Central Asian Partners Learn About Community Mobilization Strategies and the Socially-oriented Model of the "Demeu" Family Medicine Center

More than 70 healthcare leaders from Central Asia came to Astana, Kazakhstan on May 14-15 to attend a Community Mobilization workshop sponsored by AIHA and the Academy for Educational Development (AED). The workshop provided a forum for physicians to build their capacity by learning about various ways to mobilize communities and to better respond to community priorities.

Over a period of two days, participants learned how to better identify the health and social problems affecting their communities, as well as how to develop approaches for securing broad-based community involvement in prevention campaigns. A great deal of time was allocated to discussing community-based HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and ways to ensure high-risk groups' access to prevention resources.

Yelena Kolmogarova, director of the program for disabled children at the Demeu Center takes care of her patients in the play room. (Photo: Pavel Gulyaev)

The "Demeu" Family Medicine Center in Astana, opened in November 2000 as part of the Astana/Pittsburgh partnership program, is widely recognized as an excellent example of successful community mobilization. (See "Pioneering Model Primary Healthcare Programs, Astana Family Medicine Center Combines Medical and Social Services")

The Center, which provides not only medical, but also a number of social services to the local population, has been instrumental in meeting the needs of targeted risk groups, which is especially important nowadays, when the countries of Central Asia are facing a rapid increase in HIV/AIDS incidence.

For example, the Center operates a station where injecting drug users and commercial sex workers receive prevention supplies, such as condoms, as well as educational information, medical counseling, and treatment, if necessary. The confidentiality of services makes it easier for health providers to reach larger high-risk population groups. At present, 30 volunteers help to run the station, the majority of them are active drug users. The Center also offers numerous patient clubs for socially vulnerable populations, such as disabled children, teenagers, singles, the elderly, and low-income families. It is also actively involved in promoting contraception and teaching healthy pregnancy and Lamaze classes to future parents.

Dinara Bayserkina, OB/GYN at the Demeu Center, provides family planning counseling to young couple. (Photo: Pavel Gulyaev)

Sharing her impressions about the Center, Zukhra Melieva, head physician of the Republican Family Medical Center in Dushanbe, Tajikistan said, "Applying the experience of the Demeu Center to the Family Medicine Center in Dushanbe could be quite beneficial, especially in terms of social work, health promotion, and disease prevention, as well as home health care."

Recognizing the advantage of integrating social services and community involvement into primary healthcare, Tamara Dzhusubaliyeva, deputy head of the Almaty Health Administration, described the Demeu Center as, "a fitting model for primary healthcare delivery that deserves replication in Kazakhstan."

According to Bauyrzhan Amirov, AIHA program coordinator for Central Asia, "Many partners noted the success of the Astana partnership in improving community health and expressed their willingness to disseminate the experience of the Demeu Center in their home countries."

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