Dushanbe - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there any particular health concerns? What is the quality of available medical care? What medical conditions typically require medical evacuation?
Health care quality is really low and people get medevac'ed for even minor things. If the Embassy health unit can't treat you, I would not want to go to a local facility. Everyone will suffer from stomach problems, even if you wash all your fruits and vegetables and are really careful. I was more careful at the beginning of my tour and think that I had mostly adjusted by the end. But even the high end restaurants can cause "Tajik Tummy" sometimes. - Aug 2021
Local medical care is not great - emergency treatment only. Most advanced medical issues require MEDEVAC. There is no routine dental care here (due to risk of hepatitis). - Apr 2021
Many people experience "Tajik tummy" while in country. The water isn't safe to drink. People are medevac'd for serious injury or illness and for most dental care. - Jun 2020
Concerns: you'll probably get Tajik Tummy a couple of times, especially in summer when very high temperatures (over 40 C or 104 Fahrenheit) can cause food to go off quickly.
Medical care: Little pharmacies are everywhere, so you can easily pick up basic stuff like aspirin, band-aids and Imodium. For minor stuff, sprains and whatnot, there are a couple of foreign-run clinics that the Embassy recommends -- check their website.
For more serious stuff, get the hell out. Everyone agrees on this point. The Tajik medical system is badly broken, and you don't want to be in a Tajik hospital or under the care of a Tajik doctor. - Dec 2016
There is no healthcare I would trust in the city other than the Embassy Med Office. You will be medevaced for anything. We were the most medevaced post in the world in 2014. A lot of the medivacs were gastro-intestinal or pregnancy related. - Dec 2015
No real health concerns in terms of local diseases but the quality of medical care is horrid. Government employees get medically evacuated to Istanbul or London for almost everything. - Jun 2014
We didn't have any serious issues, but you can expect to have some stomach issues from time to time. - Mar 2014
Many. Digestive problems are very common. Dust and pollution frequently irritates allergies. Medi-evacs are common for serious concerns. - Oct 2013
Limited health care is available. There is a nurse practitioner at post. London is the nearest medevac center. - Jan 2012
Oy, this is a downside of live in Dushanbe. There is a German doctor at Prospect Clinic, which expats use, and a medical officer at the Embassy. Local facilities are really not adequate, so anything remotely serious required a medevac (usually to London). This is not the place you want anything to happen to you, and you also should not come here with any condition that needs to be treated. - Jun 2009
Yes: everything! There is no adequate health care here. - Jul 2008
