DUSHANBE, April 23, Asia-Plus - Tajikistan now has 3,142 physician and 5,385 nurse vacancies, Health Minister Ranokhon Abdurahmonova announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on April 20.  

According to her, 13,267 physicians (the ratio is 19 per 10,000 population) and 29,437 nurses (42.1 per 10,000 population) currently work in Tajikistan.   

Commenting on the TB situation in the country, the minister said that DOTS or Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course, which is the World Health Organization’s comprehensive strategy to stop tuberculosis, has to date covered 47 districts across the country.  “85.1 percent of specialists in primary sanitary-medical aid have been trained in basics of the DOTS strategy,” Abdurahmonova said.   

According to her, 1,888 people have undergone medical examination for TB over the first quarter of the year and 412 of them have been diagnosed with the disease.  The minister noted that the TB rate has shown a downward tendency in the country.  

Dwelling on other medical indices, she said that although maternal and infant mortality rates also show a downward tendency they still remain high, being 43 per 100,000 (44 in January-March 2006) and 16.8 per 1,000 (18.2) respectively.