Dushanbe, Tajikistan – A country's borders serve as gateways to international trade in goods, the cross-border movement of people, international public policy, security, and, as was made critically clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, public health. In a landlocked country like Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China, effectively managing the health risks associated with the movement of people along the more than 4000 km of border is paramount. The interplay between health and borders is crucial as it directly influences the migration process and the well-being of both migrants and host communities. The movement of people across borders affects public health, as individuals on the move and the communities hosting them interact within and across these borders. Recognizing the critical role that borders play in Tajikistan’s national well-being, IOM has launched a series of comprehensive trainings on border and health management for Government agencies working in these spaces.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) – the UN Migration Agency - in Tajikistan, jointly with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, successfully delivered 3 rounds of 2-day trainings on the topic of ‘National Borders and Health’ for eight governmental agencies of the Republic of Tajikistan. These trainings took place throughout June under IOM Tajikistan’s multi-year projects funded by the U.S. Government’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the Canadian Government’s Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

IOM's ‘National Borders and Health’ training module enhances the skills of personnel working at border entry points in line with international health security recommendations. It includes tabletop exercises and simulations focused on the prevention, detection, and control of infectious diseases, as well as information dissemination, and improving emergency response capabilities. The conducted training workshops contribute to several international frameworks and resolutions aimed at enhancing global health security and managing health risks at borders:

• International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005: Strengthening national capacities to detect, assess, and respond to public health risks at entry points.
• Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA): Enhancing efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.

Improving the preparedness of both medical and non-medical personnel is a priority for national security. Effective preventive and anti-epidemic measures are crucial to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, especially those causing emergency health situations. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant issues in organizing anti-epidemiological measures at points of entry and IHR compliance among WHO member states, including Tajikistan. High preparedness at all levels, from border checkpoints to the national level, is essential for ensuring state sanitary security.

“It was clear that, globally, countries were not ready to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This highlights the growing challenge to forecast when and how contagious diseases will hit, and how to mitigate them. This training brought together experts from diverse backgrounds showing the need to coordinate across thematic areas to effectively address emergent health crises.” – highlights the representative of State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance Service of the Republic of Tajikistan.

IOM will continue to provide capacity building activities for its government partners on national borders and health throughout 2025 and 2026.

For further information please contact Khusrav Rajabov (krajabov@iom.int) and Parviz Melibaev (pmelibaev@iom.int).