Healthcare system remains one of the most underdeveloped sectors in Kyrgyzstan. Health Minister Erkin Checheybaev said in an interview with Densooluk.Media.
According to him, while other ministries and agencies have advanced in terms of reforms and financing, the healthcare system has significantly lagged behind.
«The last effective reforms in healthcare took place in the 2000s — when health insurance was introduced, hospitals began receiving payments per treated patient, and primary care was funded on a per capita basis. Since then, the system has been in stagnation. The Compulsory Health Insurance Fund hasn’t undergone a single reform since. The Ministry of Health adopted programs, but most of them have merely continued the momentum of those earlier reforms,» the head of the Ministry of Health complained.
He noted that the country’s leadership and the government as a whole understand that it is necessary to completely change the direction of healthcare policy — from treatment to prevention.
«This task was set by the president. People must be encouraged to take care of their health. He himself actively promotes a healthy lifestyle. The Ministry of Health must work at the population level, measures must be aimed at the entire population, preferably with an emphasis on the health of mothers and children, the younger generation and the elderly,» Erkin Checheybaev noted.
He added that the president, the head of the Cabinet and members of Parliament support reforms in the healthcare sector.
