Kazakhstan Ramps Up Healthcare Reform: New Clinics, More Doctors and Digital Upgrades

Kazakhstan is accelerating its healthcare transformation by expanding medical infrastructure, boosting workforce numbers, and embracing digital technologies.

Thanks to ongoing reforms, overall mortality dropped by 2.7 per cent, and infant deaths declined by 20.2 per cent as of October 1, compared to the same period last year, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

In just three years, over 600 new medical facilities have been built across the country.

Highlights include: National Cancer Center (Astana), Emergency Medicine Center (Astana), Infectious Diseases Center (Almaty)

More projects are on the way, with major facilities like a multi-field hospital in Ridder, a Hematology Center in Ust-Kamenogorsk, and a new emergency station set to open by year-end.

As part of the National Rural Healthcare Modernization Project:

601 rural health units have been built

54 more are expected to be completed this year

From January to October, healthcare investments reached 214.8 billion tenge, nearing the planned 241 billion - a sign of continued government commitment to sectoral growth.

This year, 10,500 new doctors graduated from medical universities, with 34 per cent assigned to rural areas - twice as many as in 2024.

The impact:

Doctor shortage down 19 per cent

Nurse shortage down 13 per cent

Medical Education Gets a Boost

To raise training standards, Kazakhstan has updated educational programs, added more core medical disciplines, begun integrating international standards.

A dual-degree program between Karaganda Medical University and Kazan Federal University launched on September 1, enrolling 70 students so far.

Talks are also ongoing to open a Pakistani medical university branch in Kazakhstan - part of a broader push to globalize medical education.