The Healthcare in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

is a post-Soviet healthcare system under reform. The

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

(WHO), in 2000, ranked the Kazakhstani healthcare system as the 64th in overall performance, and 135th by overall level of health (among 191 member nations included in the study). Salamatty Kazakhstan is the State Healthcare Development Programme. The

Human Rights Measurement Initiative The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) is a non-profit organisation primarily housed in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 2016 by Anne-Marie Brook, K. Chad Clay, and Susan Randolph: experts in human rights and economics. These ...

finds that Kazakhstan is fulfilling 79.7% of what it should be fulfilling for the

right to health The right to health is the economic, social, and cultural right to a universal minimum standard of health to which all individuals are entitled. The concept of a right to health has been enumerated in international agreements which include the U ...

based on its level of income. When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Kazakhstan achieves 96.1% of what is expected based on its current income. In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 80.9% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. Kazakhstan falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 62.1% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.

History

The quality of healthcare, which remained entirely under state control in 2006, declined in the post-Soviet era because of insufficient funding and the loss of technical experts through emigration. Between 1989 and 2001, the ratio of doctors per 10,000 inhabitants fell by 15% , to 34.6, and the ratio of hospital beds per 10,000 inhabitants fell by 46%, to 74. By 2005 those indicators had recovered somewhat, to 55 and 77, respectively. Since 1991, health care has consistently lacked adequate government funding; in 2005 only 2.5% of

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

went for that purpose. A government health reform program aimed to increase that figure to 4% in 2010. A compulsory health insurance system has been in the planning stages for several years. Wages for health workers are extremely low, and equipment is in critically short supply. The main foreign source of medical equipment is Japan. Because of cost, the emphasis of treatment increasingly is on outpatient care instead of the hospital care preferred under the Soviet system. The health system is in crisis in rural areas such as the Aral Sea region, where health is most affected by

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

.Kazakhstancountry profile

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Federal Research Division The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress. The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Unit ...

(December 2006). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

.'' The most common diseases are

respiratory infections Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infectious diseases involving the respiratory tract. An infection of this type usually is further classified as an upper respiratory tract infection (URI or URTI) or a lower respiratory tract infection (LRI ...

cardiovascular conditions Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

, and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. Since 2000, the incidence of

human immunodeficiency virus The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immun ...

(HIV) has increased, as has the incidence of environment-linked

cancers Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

. In 2003 an estimated 23,000 citizens had HIV. Because of increasing numbers of people in high-risk categories, such as female sex workers and intravenous narcotics users, experts forecast an increase in that figure. In 2003 an estimated 80 percent of cases were narcotics-related. In 2006 an outbreak of juvenile HIV caused by improper hospital techniques gained national attention. In the first nine months of 2006, some 1,285 new cases were reported officially. 37 mothers died per 100,000 live births in 2009. The maternal mortality rate had gone down slightly in comparison to 2008. Officials reported very high numbers for suicides in Kazakhstan.

Healthcare System

Healthcare in Kazakhstan is provided by a network of primary, secondary and tertiary care facilities. Healthcare facilities are largely owned and operated by the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

represented by the Ministry of Health. Health insurance is now primarily provided by the government in the public sector.

Providers

Healthcare provider A health care provider is an individual health professional or a health facility organization licensed to provide health care diagnosis and treatment services including medication, surgery and medical devices. Health care providers often receive ...

s in Kazakhstan encompass individual healthcare personnel, healthcare facilities and medical products.

Facilities

The

public hospital A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is fully funded by the government and operates solely off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In some countries, this typ ...

s share of total hospital capacity has remained relatively stable (about 70%) for decades. There are also privately owned for-profit hospitals as well as government hospitals in some locations, mainly owned by county and city governments. There is a nationwide system of government-owned medical facilities open to the general public. The national

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

operates field hospitals as well as permanent hospitals (the

Military Health System The Military Health System (MHS) is a form of nationalized health care operated within the United States Department of Defense that provides health care to active duty, Reserve component and retired U.S. Military personnel and their dependents. ...

), to provide military-funded care to active military personnel. Hospitals provide some outpatient care in their emergency rooms and specialty clinics, but primarily exist to provide inpatient care. Hospital emergency departments and

urgent care An urgent care center (UCC), also known as an urgent treatment centre in the United Kingdom, is a type of walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of urgent ambulatory care in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional emergency departme ...

centers are sources of sporadic problem-focused care. Hospice services for the terminally ill who are expected to live six months or less are most commonly subsidized by charities and government. Prenatal, family planning care is government-funded

obstetric Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surg ...

and gynaecological specialty and provided in primary care facilities, and are usually staffed by nurse practitioners (midwives). A big share of medical health care is delivered through a vast network of primary care facilities called ambulatories and policlinics.

Hospitals

Hospitals in Kazakhstan include the following: *Almaty Emergency Hospital *Children's Hospital in Almaty

Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan is one of executive branches in Kazakh government to control, regulate and organize the delivery of social services in public health and medical care. One of the office head was Salidat Kayirbekova.

Medical Universities

UIB, International Medical School Almaty
* Kazakh National Medical University * Qaraghandy State Medical University, Karaganda State Medical University * Astana Medical University *Semey Medical University *South Kazakhstan medical academy

National Medical Holding

National Medical Holding is an experimental health system located in capital city Nur-Sultan. Its purpose is to be "medical cluster", so new health technologies could be acquired, developed and disseminated across the nation. It comprises several hospitals under centralized management, and as of 2012 is subordinated to Nazarbayev University.

List of National Medical Holding's subsidiaries

Non-governmental organizations

Multiple domestic and international health NGOs conduct their work in Kazakhstan. The

has a country office in Nur-Sultan and works with the Ministry of Healthcare and healthcare providers on initiatives for treatment, prevention and education.

Quality of Care in Kazakhstan

Enacted in 2010, new Code of Health proposed several changes in existing procedures in healthcare quality assurance.

External links

Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Health & Prosperity

References

{{List of hospitals in Europe Healthcare in Kazakhstan,