DUSHANBE, April 18, 2009, Asia-Plus — Six medical specialists from the U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MAROSOC) teamed up with Tajik medical personnel to treat more than 300 patients at the Panj Central Hospital April 14-17, press release issued by the US Embassy in Dushanbe said.
Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson visited the hospital on April 16 to congratulate the American and Tajik team on their cooperation. The activities were conducted as part of the U.S.-Tajik Medical Civil Action Program (MedCAP), with the goal of improving patient treatment procedures and suggesting preventive medical advice to promote a healthy lifestyle.
The U. S. Departments of State and Defense provided $50,000 for medicines and medical supplies, which will be donated to the hospital upon completion of the MedCAP. The supplies include antibiotics, syringes, intra-venous kits, bandages, basic medical tools, and other supplies.
The Panj District Central Hospital provides medical services for the district”s 96,000 residents and processes cases from 32 local clinics. A U.S. Army Civil Affairs team selected the hospital for the MedCAP because it is the most prominent facility in the area providing medical care to patients from the large and diverse district.
In November 2008, MAROSOC representatives came to Tajikistan to identify a MedCAP site that would benefit the most from a joint U.S.-Tajik effort to improve patient treatment procedures, address local preventive medicine issues, and bring together the efforts of U.S. and Tajik civil and military agencies for the benefit of the people of Tajikistan. MAROSOC consulted with the U.S. Army Civil Affairs team, which has conducted a number of local improvement projects in cooperation with Tajik officials, in selecting the Panj Central Hospital. Medical personnel from the Tajik Ministry of Interior’s Special Operations Police Detachment (OMON) and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) also contributed to the MedCAP.
MAROSOC teams have worked frequently and closely with Republic of Tajikistan’s military units in combined training since 2006. Through the conduct of medical facility assessments and civil assistance projects these teams seek to bring together the efforts of U.S. and Tajik military and civil agencies to ensure continued development of the spirit of cooperation and improvement of local conditions.
On the return to Dushanbe, Ambassador Jacobson dropped by another U.S. Army Civil Affairs project, the renovation of the Qumsangir Central Hospital emergency room. The U.S. Department of Defense provided $16,000 in funding and sent a Civil Affairs team to Tajikistan to oversee the project. The Dusti Company, a local contracting firm, is carrying out construction at the site. The renovation will be completed in mid-May.
