Enhancing Health Collaboration with Turkic Nations and WHO: Kazakhstan's Healthcare Diplomacy
TALKING ABOUT HEALTHCARE MODERNIZATION IN KAZAKHSTAN: THE NEW HORIZONS OF HEALTHCOURSE
In a recent get-together, Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Health Ministers from the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), and Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, discussed strategies for Kazakhstan's healthcare upgrades and worldwide health challenges.
The powwow highlighted Kazakhstan's current endeavors to transform its healthcare landscape, including setting up new infrastructure, establishing multidisciplinary clinics, and modernizing medical equipment (shoutout to the Prime Minister's press service for keeping us in the loop).
One of the primary goals is to bring Kazakhstan into closer partnership with the OTS members, with a focus on experience swapping and transferring modern medical technologies. Proposals for improving healthcare in Kazakhstan and its allies were also on the table, with a strong emphasis on a unified response to global health threats.
Bektenov emphasized the crucial role of collaborative efforts for tackling formidable health threats, reaffirming Kazakhstan's ongoing healthcare modernization journey, particularly new infrastructure, multidisciplinary clinics, and avant-garde medical equipment. After all, Kazakhstan is not only modernizing its health system but also beefing up its pharmaceutical industry.
According to Bektenov, teaming up with WHO has significantly contributed to Kazakhstan's success in decreasing the incidence of respiratory and circulatory diseases, hence lowering mortality rates. Kazakhstan is eager to share its experience with other OTS countries.
Ministers from partner countries commended Kazakhstan's progress in enhancing healthcare services. The immediate focus for the following two years will zero in on improving primary healthcare, battling tuberculosis, and fighting diseases, as well as pharmacological cooperation, particularly with Hungary's relevant government agencies. Let's not forget the water hygiene discussions, too!
Partnering with WHO
Cohabitation with WHO is carried out within the framework of two-year cooperation agreements between the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Kazakh Ministry of Health. Plans for 2024-2025 involve universal health service coverage, emergency preparedness, prevention of non-communicable diseases, and implementing the One Health approach.
Kluge lauded Kazakhstan's efforts to reduce premature mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases through comprehensive preventive measures. By implementing a ban on vaping, strict alcohol control, and a vaccination program against the human papillomavirus, Kazakhstan has made a significant impact on public health.
"in the second phase of our cooperation, we are looking ahead to opening the Academy of Primary Health Care (PHC), where young specialists from Kazakhstan will be trained and become leading experts in the modern system of providing services at the PHC level," said Kluge.
Healthcare Initiatives and Investments
Kazakhstan is striving to establish a primary healthcare system that prioritizes accessibility and quality. Over the past few years, the country has rolled out multiple initiatives, such as advanced nursing practices, early detection screenings for cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and creating competence centers for cardiology, oncology, and endocrinology.
In 2024, investment in Kazakhstan's healthcare sector rose by an impressive 8.4%, hitting an approximate $920 million. One-third of this investment came from private sources, and the pharmaceutical industry nearly doubled its investments to $91.3 million. By 2029, there's a goal to achieve 50% local production of medicines.
Since 2016, Kazakhstan has inaugurated 784 new medical facilities, which include 467 primary healthcare centers, as part of the National Project for Rural Healthcare Modernization. A significant boon? Life expectancy at birth has increased by nearly 3.5 years and reached 75 years!
Following the meeting, the officials signed agreements, including a Joint Declaration on health matters, Joint Action Plan for healthcare, and several memorandums of cooperation aimed at personnel training and biological safety.
Health ministers of the OTS also signed a memorandum on April 7, designating Kazakhstan’s National Coordination Center for Emergency Medicine into a regional cooperation platform.
These initiatives demonstrate Kazakhstan's determination to elevate health accessibility and quality by implementing strategic investments, preventive care, and forming powerful international partnerships.
[1] OTS officials sign health-related memorandum, Kazinform, April 7, 2025[2] New outpatient clinic in Volchanka village is 65% complete, Kazinform, April XX, 20XX[3] Hematology Center in Ust-Kamenogorsk receives fund boost, Kazinform, April XX, 20XX[4] Over one million unemployed citizens to gain health insurance, Kazinform, April XX, 20XX[5] WHO Commends Kazakhstan's Success in Lowering Chronic Disease Mortality, Interfax-Kazakhstan, April XX, 20XX
- Kazakhstan, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), is implementing initiatives aimed at lowering premature mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases, such as implementing a ban on vaping, strict alcohol control, and a vaccination program against papillomavirus.
- The current healthcare modernization journey in Kazakhstan includes setting up new infrastructure, establishing multidisciplinary clinics, and investing in avant-garde medical equipment, as well as beefing up the pharmaceutical industry.
- In the second phase of their cooperation, WHO and Kazakhstan aim to open the Academy of Primary Health Care, where young specialists will be trained and become leading experts in the modern system of providing services at the primary healthcare level.
- Kazakhstan has set a goal to achieve 50% local production of medicines by 2029, with a significant increase in investments in the pharmaceutical industry in recent years.
