Doubts expressed by a senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) in relation to Turkmenistan’s claims that it has zero cases of coronavirus. He told the BBC it was unlikely the virus would spread in the country.
“It has been spreading like a pandemic around the world for almost two years,” said Dr Catherine Smallwood. “From a scientific point of view, it is unlikely that the virus will spread in Turkmenistan.”
The Turkmenistan is one of the few countries, including North Korea, to claim no cases coronavirus. Dr Smallwood ‘s statement represents the WHO’ s first public challenge to Turkmenistan ‘s claim, as a growing number of Covid incidents are reported in the country unofficially, the report said.
The World Health Organization relies on data provided by national governments for information on coronavirus statistics. Until recently, the agency reiterated Turkmenistan’s claim that zero cases had been reported in the country, leading to criticism from independent observers and the media.
Asked if she now says Turkmenistan is providing false information, the official said the agency could not dispute whether a country was operating under international law. It is more important to “rely on a dialogue” with the authorities, as with President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, than to “make statements that may not lead to those kinds of actions that we would like to see.”
The… unreliable data for the coronavirus
Analysts say Turkmenistan’s official coronavirus statistics are unreliable. One reason was the “extremely repressive, authoritarian nature of government,” said Rachel Denber, deputy director of Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch.
The Turkmen government “has a long history of repression and a long history of punishing people who reveal the truth,” he said.
A WHO team visited Turkmenistan in July 2020 – the only Covid-19 mission allowed so far. There are some positives to the country – according to Dr Smallwood – such as face masks and keeping distance. And earlier this year the country became the first to made vaccination mandatory for all adults.
The government is now open to discussing health measures against Covid-19, says Dr Smallwood. “And this is what we are focusing on at the end of the day, these are the measures that will contribute to the protection of the population.”
Some, however, have questioned this approach and whether the WHO can help respond to the crisis effectively without reliable statistics, such as the number of cases.
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