The Governments of the United States of America and Azerbaijan have worked closely over the past six years to improve health care services for the population of Azerbaijan. Continuing this partnership, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently launched a new two-year health project – Azerbaijan Strengthening Health Systems through Integrated Programs (AZ SHIP).

AZ SHIP will provide technical assistance to improve health care by addressing constraints in governance, resource management, quality of services as well as education and empowerment of health care consumers. The project will build on past accomplishments of USAID’s health projects. AZ SHIP will play a critical role in building capacity of health providers to diagnose and treat prioritized health diseases. AZ SHIP will target maternal, neonatal, and child health, reproductive health/family planning, and tuberculosis services. It will further integrate these priority areas into the primary health care delivery system.

“USAID looks forward to continued collaboration with the Government of Azerbaijan to help strengthen the health care system and improve health care quality under AZ SHIP“, said Michael Greene, USAID/Azerbaijan Mission Director.

USAID has selected Abt Associates, a global leader in research and program implementation in the fields of health, social and environmental policy, and international development, to implement the AZ SHIP project. Abt Associates previously led implementation of the USAID/Azerbaijan’s Primary Health Care Strengthening project. The AZ SHIP partner team includes Save the Children and Assistance for Healthcare Development, a local non-governmental organization. Project implementation begins in October 2011.