Kazakhstan Bolsters Healthcare Collaborations with Turkic Nations and the World Health Organization
Straight-Up Recap:
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov of Kazakhstan kicked off a bonza health-centric confab with the Ministers of Health from the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO), on April 8. Akmaral Alnazarova, Kazakhstan's Health Minister, spilled the beans about the deets of the fifth meet-up of OTS Health Ministers.
Drama in Kazakhstan:
Kazakhstan's healthcare contemporary is undergoing a significant overhaul, boasting new digs, specialty clinics, and shiny equipment. The People's Press Service has the snaps to prove it. The discussion targeted bolstering Kazakhstan's participation in the OTS, with a focus on sharing skills and swapping modern medical tech. The group brainstormed ideas for making healthcare in Kazakhstan and its partner nations top-notch. The crew stressed the importance of a unified response from OTS member states to tackle global health woes, according to the People's Press Service.
Bektenov, speaking with the cadence of a seasoned orator, emphasized the need for joint action to combat widespread health threats. He highlighted the ongoing overhaul in Kazakh healthcare, featuring new healthcare Super Bowl stadiums, specialized clinics, and hi-tech hospital equipment. Kazakhstan is also pumping resources into its pharmaceutical scene.
"WHO offers a big assist in our efforts," Bektenov declared, referencing the fruitful joint work resulting in fewer people wheezing and croaking from lung and heart diseases. Bektenov expressed Kazakhstan's willingness to share its healthcare know-how with other OTS nations.
Health chiefs from partner countries expressed props for Kazakhstan's healthcare step-up. The focus over the next two years is bolstering primary care, emergency services, tuberculosis and other disease busters, pharmaceutical collab, and water hygiene.
WHO Collaboration:
The Kazakh Ministry of Health and WHO collaboration takes place within the two-year cooperation pact. Topics of collaboration for 2024-2025 include universal healthcare coverage, emergency preparedness, non-communicable disease prevention, and adopting the One Health approach.
Kluge, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, lauded Kazakhstan's efforts to decrease premature mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases by applying thorough prevention methods. He named Kazakhstan one of only ten global countries trimming deaths from cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
"Kazakhstan's preventative actions have made a massive impact: they've banned vaping, imposed a strict alcohol policy, and launched a Human Papillomavirus vaccine program. Today we’re discussing the second stage of our cooperation, which will involve the establishment of an Academy of Primary Health Care for training future Kazakh healthcare mavens," announced Kluge.
Kazakhstani Health Initiatives and Investments:
Kazakhstan is championing accessible and top-notch primary care. The nation has introduced initiatives such as advanced nursing practices, early cancer and heart disease screenings, and Special Forces-like Competence Centers for cardiology, oncology, and endocrinology.
In 2024, Kazakhstan's healthcare sector pocketed a 8.4% investment increase, reaching around $920 million, with a third of that coming from the private sector. The investment in the pharmaceutical industry nearly doubled to $91.3 million. Kazakhstan aims to boost domestic medicine production to 50% by 2029.
Over the past five years, Kazakhstan has opened 784 new health facilities, including 467 primary healthcare centers, as part of the Rural Healthcare Modernization National Project. The life expectancy at birth has risen by nearly 3.5 years, standing at 75. Post the meeting, the officials inked a joint health declaration, a healthcare execution plan, and several cooperative memorandums in healthcare personnel training and biological safety.
Historical Pact with OTS:
On April 7, health ministers from the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) signed a memorandum, converting Kazakhstan's National Coordination Center for Emergency Medicine into a united platform for cooperation.
Insights:
- Kazakhstan continues its multidimensional approach to modernizing healthcare infrastructure, aiming to bolster rural and primary care.
- Collaborative efforts between Kazakhstan and the WHO focus on pandemic readiness, addressing non-communicable diseases, and implementing the One Health approach.
- Improvements in Kazakhstan's healthcare sector have manifested in increased life expectancy and reduced infant/maternal mortality rates, reaching European standards.
- The OTS partnership aims to strengthen healthcare diplomacy, with Kazakhstan facilitating cross-regional training programs and infrastructure projects that align with multilateral health objectives.
- The WHO highlighted Kazakhstan as a regional leader in reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases.
- Challenges in the healthcare sector include addressing climate-related health risks and maintaining investment in emergency preparedness.
- The collaboration between the Kazakh Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) will focus on universal healthcare coverage, emergency preparedness, non-communicable disease prevention, and adopting the One Health approach, as outlined in their two-year cooperation pact.
- Bektenov, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister, stressed that Kazakhstan is also investing heavily in its pharmaceutical scene, especially in the development and production of domestic medicines, aiming to achieve a 50% domestic production rate by 2029.
- Kazakhstan has initiated advanced nursing practices, early cancer and heart disease screenings, and specialized Competence Centers for cardiology, oncology, and endocrinology, as part of its efforts to champion accessible and high-quality primary care.
- During the OTS health ministers' meeting, discussions centered on strengthening primary care, emergency services, tuberculosis management, pharmaceutical collaboration, and water hygiene in Kazakhstan and partner nations over the next two years.
