Nursultan Nazarbayev meets with Health Minister
At the meeting, Yelzhan Birtanov provided the President of Kazakhstan with an interim report on implementing "Densaulyq" national health development program and accomplishment of the assignments given to the ministry.
President Nazarbayev highlighted the importance of disease prevention, stressing the role of citizens in shaping the nation's health.
"It is necessary to involve citizens in strengthening their own health," the Head of State said. He added that human health depends on medicine for just 10 to 15%, while all the rest depends on a person only.
Nursultan Nazarbayev dwelled on the issue of promoting a healthy lifestyle among the population, and also emphasized the importance of increasing the life expectancy of Kazakh citizens up to an average age of 80.
For his part, the Minister of Healthcare informed the President of Kazakhstan of improved core indicators of public health.
"By every measure, the situation is stable. The life expectancy has been increasing. The maternal mortality is following a downward trend. The infant mortality has also been declining for several years," said Yelzhan Birtanov.
The Minister of Healthcare told about the measures taken by the Ministry to improve public health and pointed to the importance of the early detection of diseases.
"The program for providing free medicines has been available in Kazakhstan since 2012. It is very effective as nearly 2.5 million people receive free medicines to treat 50 diseases including hypertension, diabetes, and cancer," Birtanov said.
The minister also reported to Nursultan Nazarbayev on the results of the measures taken to improve the quality of primary health services and digital enablement of the healthcare system.
In the course of the meeting, the Head of State noted that the government controls pharmaceutical prices and the fight against corruption in the pharmaceutical industry.
"After my assignment to follow up on the prices, the head of the Pharmacy Committee and the management of SK-Pharmacy LLP have been held accountable. The heads of the healthcare departments of five regions have been detained. As a result of illegal actions with contracts, the prices for medicines are unjustly rising," the President of Kazakhstan said.
Nursultan Nazarbayev instructed the minister with ensuring timely implementation of the targets assigned and organizing appropriate control in public health including the procurement of medicines.
The Head of State also reminded Yelzhan Birtanov of his personal accountability for the sector he is in charge of.