Healthcare - The Times Of Central Asia

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Social Kyrgyzstan Education Security Healthcare Legislation

300 Children Killed on Kyrgyzstan’s Roads

The Director of the Situation Centre of the Kyrgyz Republic, Joldoshbek Mambetaliyev, has issued a harrowing report that since 2021, more than 2,000 people including 316 children, have been killed on roads in Kyrgyzstan. Research by the centre cites the prime causes as poor road surfaces, insufficient lighting, lack of road signs and parapets, alongside non-compliance with speed limits and dangerous driving. Mambetaliyev also stressed that lack of knowledge and non- adherence to traffic rules amongst drivers were major contributing factors given that over a third of accidents were caused by overtaking, violating crosswalk rules, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving under the influence of alcohol. More than 20 percent of accidents were caused by speeding. The Situation Centre recommended that in order to reduce the number of road accidents, the government must collaborate with local authorities to develop a safer and more comprehensive infrastructure. Mambetaliyev concluded, "Road safety depends directly on the responsible behaviour of all road users... It is important to conduct awareness-raising activities among the population to reduce accidents on the roads." Kyrgyzstan's Situation Centre currently monitors key events and incidents on roads throughout the country in real time, followed by in-depth analyses.

Kyrgyzstan Turkmenistan Tajikistan Kazakhstan Healthcare Export/import Economy Uzbekistan Food

Central Asians Not Bananas About Bananas

According to the agricultural trade publication East Fruit, Central Asians have little taste for bananas. Kazakhstan has the highest consumption rate but with an average of 4.5 kg of fresh bananas eaten per person, per year, comes nowhere near Uganda where each year, individuals enjoy a whopping 270 kg of bananas. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are fast catching up with Kazakhstan whilst in Tajikistan, the annual banana consumption per head is only 2.3 kg. In Turkmenistan, it appears that many citizens never touch the fruit. Lagging far behind its neighbours, a very modest 160 grams are consumed per head, per year; a figure which according to East Fruit analysts is even lower than that recorded for North Korea. Not surprisingly, countries with the highest banana consumption tend to be those where the fruit is grown and exported and by way of explaining the above data, Andriy Yarmak, an economist in the investment department of the Unites Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated, "Such a low consumption of bananas in Central Asian countries is due to the distance of the countries from the port infrastructure, which makes logistics very expensive. In addition, many countries in the region have high tariff and non-tariff barriers that prevent the import of exotic fruits into these regions. The third factor is the relatively low prices of local fruits, especially in the season of their mass production.”

Export/import Legislation Rule of law Healthcare Central Asia Kyrgyzstan

Traffickers of Human Organs Detained in Kyrgyzstan

The State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of Kyrgyzstan has detained members of an international criminal group at Manas Airport. The criminals had organized a black-market channel for the illegal sale of human organs abroad. All detainees are citizens of the Kyrgyzstan. According to the investigation, the criminal group looked for patients in foreign clinics who were willing to pay large sums of money for the transplantation of a healthy organ. The gang then found donors in Kyrgyzstan, who were fraudulently induced into undergoing organ-harvesting operations. "Donors necessarily underwent a medical examination, where, regardless of [their overall health], always issued a positive conclusion, after which the organizers through corrupt schemes made false documents on the relationship with the patient necessary for submission to the clinic, where the operation will be held," said the SCNS. Investigators found that the donors received between $1,000 and $7,000 for their kidneys. The recruiters of those donors earned about $3,000, and the organizers of the criminal channel received between $30,000 and $70,000. The SCNS said that all necessary measures are currently being taken to identify all those involved in this crime. Earlier this year, Kyrgyz president Sadyr Zhaparov signed a law on the protection of citizens' health, according to which private and public hospitals can engage in organ transplantation. However, a major stipulation requires that the organ recipient must be a relative of the donor. This loophole in the legislation was exploited by criminals by issuing fictitious documents on family kinship.

tuberculosis USAID Healthcare Kyrgyzstan

U.S. Helps Decrease Tuberculosis Mortality Rates in Kyrgyzstan

U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Liz Zentos and Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Health Alymkadyr Beishenaliev, attended a national conference on 17 April to review the Cure Tuberculosis partnership. Since 2019, the U.S. government has invested more than $20 million in curing tuberculosis in Kyrgyzstan through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). To date, the joint U.S.-Kyrgyz initiative has provided faster and more accurate tuberculosis diagnosis, improved treatment success rates, and increased community awareness and engagement in efforts to control tuberculosis, resulting in a decrease of tuberculosis mortality rates by over 33% and a reduction of cases by 37%. Praising the project’s success, Ms Zentos announced, “It is a collaborative effort that helped modernize tuberculosis diagnostics, improve patient-centred care, and reform the policy environment to improve tuberculosis treatment for all.” In turn, Minister Beishenaliev expressed gratitude to USAID for its ongoing aid, saying, “The Ministry of Health together with partners will continue to fight tuberculosis in Kyrgyzstan, develop a patient-centred model of tuberculosis care, support outpatient treatment in primary health care, introduce new diagnostic and treatment methods, develop and integrate tuberculosis information systems, and strengthen cooperation in tuberculosis prevention and care.”

Central Asia Healthcare Uzbekistan Social Population

Uzbekistan’s Population Rises to Almost 37 Million

According to data produced by the Statistics Agency of Uzbekistan, the country's permanent population reached 36,963,262 on 1 April this year; an increase of 2.1% or 163,500 residents, compared to the beginning of 2023. Remarkably, records indicate that from January to April, an additional 54,500 people were either born or settled in the country each month and the number of permanent residents is increasing by 1,800 people per day. Amongst the growing population, 56.3% are citizens of working age and as recorded on 1 January, men outnumber women by 250,266.

Social Pharmaceuticals Healthcare Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan Continues to Combat Drug Shortages

Health Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, Alymkadyr Beishenaliyev has told local media that hospitals are 70-80% stocked with medicines, with hospitals in the Issyk-Kul region suffering the worst from short supplies. "There is a list of vital medicines, which we provide 100%. But doctors prescribe drugs which I, a medic, have never heard of; these are scarce drugs. Doctors used to get bonuses from private pharmacies [for prescribing them] - we are fighting this and it is impossible to change it in a short time," Beishenaliyev said. Kyrgyzstan's medical trade union reported that the country's hospitals lacked basic medicines and basic drugs. As of today, 290 medical organizations have applied for the necessary drugs, but are yet to receive them. Earlier this week, the Times of Central Asia reported about the difficult situation concerning the availability of drugs. Minister Beishenaliyev emphasized that the government is working to ensure hospitals have all the necessary drugs for the second quarter of 2024, promising that the problem would be resolved by 15 April. However, the head of Kyrgyzstan's medical trade union, Bermet Baryktabasova, criticized the statement made by the minister, saying that antibiotics, hormones, diuretics, anti-epileptic, psychotropic, cardiac and anti-asthma drugs are needed every day. It's medically advisable to have a three-month supply on hand, she said, adding that intensive care units need these drugs every minute, not next quarter. This year, to ensure timely and quality medical care, the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund (CMIF) allocated 443.7 million sum ($5 million) for the purchase of medicines and medical devices.