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Healthcare

Kazakhstan Faces Deepening Medical Personnel Shortage Amid Rising Emigration

Kazakhstan continues to grapple with a severe shortage of medical personnel, a crisis intensified by the steady emigration of specialists. According to First Deputy Minister of Health Timur Sultangaziev, there are currently around 9,000 unfilled positions across the country, approximately 4,000 for doctors and over 5,000 for mid-level healthcare workers. Speaking during a session of the Mazhilis, Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament, Sultangaziev reported that roughly 2,500 medical professionals have left the country over the past five years. “There is an outflow of medical personnel from the healthcare system to foreign countries,” he said. Sultangaziev cited inadequate compensation as the primary factor driving this exodus. In response, the government has allocated an additional $9.6 million this year to raise salaries for public emergency medical service employees. The Health Ministry is currently evaluating a further salary increase estimated at $19.2 million, though a final decision has yet to be made. The parliamentary session also focused on proposed legislation to increase penalties for violence against medical workers. MP Askhat Aimagambetov noted that 280 such incidents have been officially recorded in the past five years, but suggested the real number is much higher. Many medical professionals reportedly choose not to report assaults, fearing retaliation or loss of work hours. The draft bill includes a new article in the Criminal Code, introducing special legal status for “medical workers” and “ambulance drivers", and stipulating harsher penalties for violent offenses. Aimagambetov compared the proposed sanctions to those for attacks on gamekeepers, which carry a maximum sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment. “If a hooligan breaks the finger of an ordinary citizen, it’s moderate harm. If he breaks a surgeon’s finger, it’s a disaster. Thousands of operations may be cancelled because of one broken finger,” Aimagambetov said, emphasizing the vulnerability of ambulance staff, who must respond to emergency calls without regard to risk. The final version of the bill outlines penalties including fines, correctional or community service, or up to three years’ restriction or deprivation of liberty for non-life-threatening violence. In cases involving aggravating circumstances, the punishment increases to 3-7 years. Life-threatening or severe injuries could result in 5-10 years’ imprisonment, or 7-12 years under aggravating conditions. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan has already begun implementing additional protective measures for medical personnel. In the summer, authorities announced plans to equip ambulance staff with body cameras in response to the rising number of assaults on healthcare workers.

Healthcare

What Prevents Kazakh Women from Using Contraception

Kazakhstani researchers are once again drawing attention to a sensitive yet vital issue: women’s access to contraception and the broader state of reproductive health. Experts at Ranking.kz describe this matter as socially significant, directly affecting public health, quality of life, and the country’s demographic trends. According to the National Statistics Bureau (NSB), the unmet need for contraception among women with partners in Kazakhstan continues to rise. In 2024, the rate reached 18%, up from just 9.8% in 2015. The NSB attributes this unmet need to two main reasons cited by women: 12.5% said they do not want children “at this particular moment”; and 5.5% said they do not plan to become pregnant at all, “as they already have children”. However, analysts argue that the actual reasons are far more complex, encompassing unstable relationships, financial hardship, childfree lifestyle choices, and medical risks. The NSB’s approach, which treats contraception solely as a tool for regulating fertility, largely overlooks its crucial role in preventing sexually transmitted infections. Access to contraception is becoming more limited. In 2024, only 45.2% of women who wished to use contraceptives were able to do so, a decline from 55.7% in 2014. The reasons for use remain narrowly defined: delaying pregnancy or avoiding it entirely. The study also highlights stark regional disparities. Western Kazakhstan presents the most concerning figures. In the Aktobe region, 26.7% of women in partnerships report wanting but being unable to use contraception. The Atyrau region follows closely with 25.6%, then West Kazakhstan at 24%, and Astana at 23%. For comparison, dissatisfaction with access was just 11.7% nationally in 2015. The unmet need is most acute among the youngest women: 20-24 years old - 27.8%; and 15-19 years old - 25.8%. Substantial figures are also seen in older age brackets: 25-29 years old - 25%; 30-34 years old - 21.5%; and 35-39 years old - 16.9%. Globally, the United Nations reports an unmet need for contraception at 15% in 2024. Contributing factors include religious and cultural attitudes, economic barriers, lack of awareness, and restrictions imposed by partners or family members. Despite increasing demand, only 39.7% of Kazakhstani women of reproductive age, around 1.9 million individuals, currently use contraceptives. While this represents the highest number in recent years, the gap between need and access remains significant.

Boxing

Kazakhstan’s Golovkin Becomes World Boxing President

Gennadiy Golovkin, the two-time middleweight world champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist for Kazkhstan, was named president of World Boxing at the federation's inaugural congress in Rome on Sunday. Golovkin, who has been president of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee since last year, will lead the amateur boxing federation into the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He succeeds Boris van der Vorst, a Dutch national who was the first president of World Boxing. “I feel great. I feel more excited. Right now, we have a new team, new view,” Golovkin said after his election to the post. “I have a plan. I have ideas, so many. My goal is bringing boxing’s position back to a high level.” The World Boxing federation was launched in 2023 to address concerns about transparency and governance in amateur boxing that had placed the future of the sport at the Olympics in doubt. That year, the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, expelled the International Boxing Association, the former governing body of amateur boxing, from the Olympic movement because of those corruption concerns. World Boxing, the new amateur boxing federation, has been collaborating with the IOC and said that, by January of this year, it had approved membership applications from 60 national boxing federations around the world. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Golovkin. “He has become the first representative of Kazakhstan to lead an international federation of an Olympic sport,” Tokayev said. “This landmark achievement is a testament to the global recognition of Gennady Golovkin’s outstanding accomplishments and his great contribution to boxing worldwide.”

Higher Education

Central Asian Countries Agree to Recognize Each Other’s University Degrees

The governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have officially agreed to mutually recognize higher education diplomas issued within the region. Kazakhstan approved the relevant draft on November 12, as documented in an intergovernmental agreement. The initiative aims to create a unified educational space in Central Asia and eliminate barriers related to qualification recognition. Under the agreement, all five countries will automatically recognize university diplomas that are legally valid, officially accredited, and issued by state higher education institutions in any of the participating countries. Recognition will apply in three key areas: Employment in another Central Asian country Internships Continuing education at the next academic level However, qualifications must meet common higher education standards. Recognition may be denied only if substantial differences in the educational systems are identified. The agreement outlines a clear implementation mechanism: each country will appoint a designated authority responsible for diploma recognition and notify the depositary, which will in turn inform the other signatories. If the structure or authority of the appointed body changes, the state is required to issue an immediate notification through diplomatic channels. Despite agreeing on a shared framework, the countries still maintain varying standards for recognizing foreign university degrees. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan have agreed to recognize diplomas from universities in any participating country, provided those institutions are legally operating and issue officially recognized state diplomas. Kazakhstan, however, has adopted stricter criteria. It will only recognize diplomas from regional universities that appear in the top 1,000 of the following international rankings: Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QS) Times Higher Education (THE) Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) Diplomas from these universities will allow holders from participating countries to work, intern, or pursue further studies in Kazakhstan, subject to an application process. The agreement is expected to ease the movement of skilled professionals within Central Asia and reduce bureaucratic barriers to regional academic and professional mobility.

TCA Interviews

TCA Interview: Director Yernar Nurgaliyev: “It’s Time for Kazakh Cinema to Make Its Mark on the World”

Yernar Nurgaliyev still describes painting as his first love. Only now, instead of a brush, he uses a camera, and instead of a canvas, a screen. Today he shoots comedies, and dreams of a Kazakh multiverse where heroes never die. He is certain of one thing: Kazakh culture will be eternal, and he is doing everything possible to make it so. The Times of Central Asia spoke with the director about how he entered film, what he plans to shoot next, and why he believes it is time for Kazakhstan to make itself known to the world. TCA: Your films are always visually striking. Is this because you were originally trained as an artist? Nurgaliyev: Yes. I graduated from art college, then enrolled at the Zhurgenov Academy of Arts to study set design. I thought I would deepen my craft, but the first courses turned out to be a repeat of the college programme. I was very bored, so I decided to go to work. I didn’t start with music videos, but as an assistant propmaster. At that time, senior students recruited assistants from among firstyear students. An energetic girl, a production designer, asked me to help her with her diploma. Before that, I wasn’t interested in cinema at all, I lived for painting: I painted from life and did portraits. But when I saw the filmset, it was “wow.” I realised I wanted to work there. And I stopped going to the academy. I wanted to quit, but they wouldn’t let me. TCA: But you still got your diploma? Nurgaliyev: Yes, although it was difficult. I had nothing to do at the academy, still life, portraits, I had already done all that in college. There, they didn’t break us but helped us find our own style. At the academy, it was the opposite: the teacher said, “Draw like me.” But I can’t draw like someone else. I can only draw in my own way. TCA: Do you paint now? Nurgaliyev: I hardly have any time, but I recently picked up a brush again, and my hand remembers everything. Oil, watercolour, gouache, it’s as if there was no break. I am grateful to my hand; it remembers everything it was taught. TCA: Which is more important, talent or perseverance? Nurgaliyev: There are people who are gifted by God. But a gift is only the beginning. If you slack off and don’t develop, nothing will come of it. The worst thing is when a person is gifted but does nothing with it. I don’t sit still. If I have one day without work, it feels like I haven’t filmed for a year. I always need to be on the move. If the pause drags on, I start calling my friends myself: “Let’s come up with something.” [caption id="attachment_39639" align="aligncenter" width="300"] @Galiya Baizhanova[/caption] TCA: This year, you turned down many projects, choosing instead to focus on another film. Is this a new stage? Nurgaliyev: I’ve matured. Next year, I plan to shoot three of...

Transport

Metro Expansion Key to Almaty Infrastructure Plans

Next year, Almaty plans another incremental step in the development of its public transport infrastructure with the opening of a new station at Kalkaman. This should see the tentacles of the transport system shift towards the west of the city. In the future, there are also plans to extend the metro north to Alatau, where the government’s “smart city” is being developed. Investment in public transport is welcome, particularly with vocal complaints from residents about ever-increasing traffic problems and their contribution to the city’s winter smog. “The expansion of the metro is considered one of the key tools for improving the environmental situation in Almaty,” a spokesperson for the Almaty mayor’s office (or Akimat), told The Times of Central Asia. “Increasing the share of passenger transportation via the subway reduces the use of cars, decreases traffic congestion, lowers emissions, and contributes to improved air quality.” The ambitious new metro project is in addition to over 600 new buses expected to be added to the Almaty Bus fleet this year. But despite these schemes, the traffic problem shows little sign of abating. It begs the question: has the city got public transport priorities right? [caption id="attachment_39565" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] New-look trolleybuses and electro-buses can be seen as part of Almaty’s modern fleet; image: TCA, Joe Luc Barnes[/caption] The rise of the automobile “Traffic jams in Almaty began in the early 2000s, when the economic situation improved and people started buying cars,” Dauren Alimbekov, a high-profile blogger on Almaty transport, told The Times of Central Asia. He adds that the privatisation of other forms of public transport exacerbated this problem. The tram network was suspended in 2015 after two high-profile accidents, with the tracks being dismantled in 2017. Its disappearance coincided almost exactly with the arrival of ride-hailing services such as Yandex Go! in July 2016. By 2023, over 200,000 residents were moonlighting as Yandex Go! drivers to earn extra money. “In recent decades, the city has been planned with cars in mind, with major thoroughfares such as Al-Farabi almost totally lacking in convenient pedestrian crossings,” said Alimbekov. This influx of drivers has created problems. Private cars are a major contributor to air pollution in the city. On some days earlier this year, Almaty recorded the worst pollution in the world. [caption id="attachment_39564" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] A lack of dedicated bus lanes slows journey times and prevents more people from using public transport; image: TCA, Joe Luc Barnes[/caption] Public transport That is not to say that there is no public transport in the city. Indeed, the Almaty Metro is the only metro system in the former Soviet Union to have opened since the collapse of communism. Trains began running in 2011, but they only travelled between an initial five stations. Two more opened in 2015, which saw a spike in passenger numbers. Today, there are eleven stations, although most of these remain along Abay Avenue, giving it little practical value to most residents. The metro system does not connect to either of the city’s...