The second mission of the World Health Organization (WHO) to be sent to Tajikistan will include representative of Rospotrebnadzor (Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing).

According to information posted on Rospotrbandzor’s official website, Rospotrebnadzor and WHO continue collaborating in combating the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in various countries of the world.  Thus, in the framework of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), Rospotrebnadzor reportedly participates in formation of rapid response teams to provide assistance to the most hit countries.  

Therefore, specialists of Rospotrebnadzor will be sent again to Tajikistan for work as part of an international expert group being formed by WHO.  

The experts will assist Tajik specialists help in carrying out lab diagnostics, epidemiological supervision and conducting research of the new coronavirus.  

Recall, the first COVID-19 mission of WHO visited Tajikistan in early May at the request of the Tajik government to support country’s response to the pandemic.  The WHO expert team met with high-level officials, public health counterparts and health professionals, working together to assess the risks and understand the situation on the ground, and help develop the response mechanisms.

Tajikistan should be preparing for the worst case scenario in relation to the future development of the COVID-19 epidemic in the country, the WHO’s special mission to Tajikistan warned at an online press conference in Dushanbe on May 12.  The WHO mission also urged Tajikistan to step up its current abysmally low level of testing.

The Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing or Rospotrebnadzor is the federal service responsible for the supervision of consumer rights protection and human wellbeing in Russia.  This service was founded in 2004, and was included in the structure of the Ministry of Health Care of Russia until 2012.  In May 2012 Rospotrebnadzor was removed from being under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and now reports directly to the Russian Government.  It functions on the authority of the Act of Federal Service on the base of the Administrative Regulation.