From 20 to 25 October, a consultative and technical mission from the WHO Regional Office for Europe worked in Ashgabat with the aim of supporting Turkmenistan in the process of validating the elimination of vertical transmission of hepatitis B and syphilis. This was reported by the online news resource TerraNews.

The mission provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan and assessed the country's progress in achieving national goals within the framework of the regional Triple Elimination Initiative (HIV, syphilis and HBV).

During the visit, the experts met with the leadership of the Ministry of Health, visited the country's leading medical institutions and, on 23 October, participated in a seminar of the National Working Group, where a roadmap for the validation of double elimination was developed. The results of the mission were summarised at a final meeting at the Ministry of Health and the WHO Country Office.