Last month, World Physiotherapy completed a productive visit to Dushanbe as part of its long-standing relationship with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Tajikistan.
The visit was in collaboration with international partners, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) where ideas for strengthening rehabilitation services across the country were explored.
In 2015, an analysis was conducted in Tajikistan identifying significant gaps in rehabilitation services. In response, and at WHO’s request, World Physiotherapy led the development of the country’s first entry-level physiotherapy curriculum, later implemented through United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) strengthening rehabilitation services in health systems project (2019–2024).
Over the past decade, World Physiotherapy has supported Tajikistan in addressing critical shortages in rehabilitation capacity through curriculum design, faculty development, strengthening clinical education, and extensive mentoring to build sustainable, locally-led physiotherapy education.
These efforts reached a major milestone in 2023, when the Republican Medical College (RMC) launched Tajikistan’s first three-year physiotherapy diploma programme. Its inaugural cohort - trained to international standards - is set to graduate this summer, marking a historic step forward for the profession and for rehabilitation capacity nationwide.
During this most recent visit, World Physiotherapy continued its support through the new Tajikistan Clinical Education Project, funded by the European Fund for Kazakhstan and Tajikistan (EFKS), which focuses on expanding pedagogical and clinical teaching capacity, strengthening clinical placement sites, and reinforcing the foundations needed for the professionalisation of physiotherapy.
World Physiotherapy met with project partners and government institutions to discuss key project developments. Our work in Tajikistan is also directly informing its expanding engagement in neighbouring Uzbekistan, where similar work to strengthen health systems is underway.
This latest trip follows this year's first in-country training, which was led by Heather Dawson and Nihad Almasri, focusing on strengthening clinical education.
This work in Tajikistan underscores World Physiotherapy’s continued commitment to building a strong, sustainable rehabilitation workforce across Central Asia.
