June 5, 2012
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover, urged the Government of Tajikistan to raise health expenditure up to international standards, and “urgently develop a progressively funded, comprehensive healthcare package to ensure universal access to health care for all.”
Anand Grover visited the country from 24 to 31 May 2012. At the end of his first mission to Tajikistan he said: “Increasing expenditure on health should be of the utmost priority to realize the right to health of all the people in Tajikistan, where the primary healthcare system remains underdeveloped and underfunded.”
Mental health
He further expressed concern about the low prioritisation of mental health in Tajikistan and its negative impact on the realisation of the right to health of persons living with mental illness. Except for the lack of adequate funding, the registration of mental health patients and related breach of privacy and confidentiality is an important problem. “The details of the registration are shared with employers, education institutions and other state agencies,” Mr. Grover noted, “and, in some cases, result in discrimination in access to employment and education.”
He thus called on the authorities to review the registration system to assess its impact on the availability and accessibility of services and facilities for persons living with mental illness.