A. Tsoy awarded representatives of international NGOs for their contribution to the development of healthcare in Kazakhstan

On February 3, Minister of Health Alexey Tsoy chaired the Country Coordinating Committee meeting for work with international organizations on HIV and tuberculosis. During the event, an award ceremony was held for representatives of the non-governmental sector for their contribution to the development of healthcare in Kazakhstan.

The Minister awarded representatives of international organizations that participated in the implementation of HIV projects and assisted in preparing a new application of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the HIV component in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them: Portfolio Manager of the Global Fund for Kazakhstan Tatiana Vinichenko, Acting UNAIDS Subregional Director Gabriela Ionascu; UNAIDS HIV Rapid Response Advisor Aliya Bokazhanova; CCM Secretariat Coordinator Rysaldy Demeuova. A. Tsoy also expressed gratitude to Deputy Country Coordinating Committee (CCM) Alexander Goliusov for the partnership and assistance provided by the CCM team under his leadership.

“The Republic of Kazakhstan’s policy generally gives the non-governmental sector a wide legal field of activity. The state policy priorities include the development of civil society. There are several mechanisms for financial support for the non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) activities. The sphere of delegating certain social functions to NGOs through the state social order is actively developing. To increase the responsibility of local executive bodies, the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan includes the provision of powers to local executive bodies to provide funding from the local budget for the placement of state social orders, including for key groups of the population,” A. Tsoy noted.

The CCM members discussed the draft Action Plan of the new HIV project component for 2021 - 2023 of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the patient movement on tuberculosis and the prospects for its development in Kazakhstan.

Joint projects aimed at supporting national programs on HIV infection and tuberculosis, funded by the Global Fund, have been implemented in Kazakhstan since 2003. The Government of Kazakhstan pays special attention to health issues, including socially significant diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis. The Head of State’s priority attention is reflected in the long-term priority “Health, Education and Well-being of Citizens of Kazakhstan” Strategy - 2030. The country has the necessary potential and will to systematically implement the goals adopted by the world community in the fight against HIV and tuberculosis.

In the last two years alone, funding for the HIV program has doubled from 8.9 billion tenges in 2018 to 16.9 billion tenges in 2020. As of December 31, 2020, 42 910 cases of HIV infection were cumulatively registered in Kazakhstan, including 2 402 foreign citizens, 553 anonymously examined persons, and 39 955 citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan recognizes the importance of achieving the following goals: “Eliminating the TB epidemic by 2030”, defined by the 3rd goal of the Sustainable Development, the implementation of the Political Declaration, approved at the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on the fight against tuberculosis “UNITED TO END TUBERCULOSIS: AN URGENT GLOBAL RESPONSE TO A GLOBAL EPIDEMIC” and the World Health Organization’s “Stop TB” strategy, and has successfully demonstrated political commitment over the years.

The Comprehensive Tuberculosis Plan for 2014-2020 was successfully implemented with the assistance of the Global Fund. As a result of the measures taken, the incidence of tuberculosis decreased 2.1 times, and the mortality rate decreased three times.

Years of the Comprehensive Plan implementation allowed to improve and reform the structure of anti-tuberculosis service, optimize bed capacity, implement evidence-based and WHO recommended newest methods of detecting, diagnosing and treating tuberculosis, introduce remote technologies, the issues of providing innovative anti-tuberculosis drugs for the treatment of patients with multiple and widespread drug resistance, etc.

The introduction of innovative diagnostic techniques and new treatment regimens made it possible to achieve high efficiency in treating tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Kazakhstan. If in 2013 the effectiveness of tuberculosis treatment was 83.5%, then in 2020 - 87.8%, with the WHO standard - 85%. The effectiveness of treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in 2013 was 74.3%, in 2020 - 82.5%, with the WHO standard - 75%.

Achievements of Kazakhstan in counteracting HIV / AIDS and tuberculosis became possible thanks to the support of non-governmental and international partners, including the Global Fund.