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.”