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Health Care, Disease Control, Crime and Safety in Kazakhstan

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Kazakhstan used to have an extensively developed public healthcare system in the 1980s when the government could provide free basic health services even to far-flung communities. More than a decade later, however, the World Bank described the country’s public healthcare as that of an underdeveloped country when its medical system, medical industry, medical research and development, pharmaceutical supply, and sanitation were also poorly rated by some world governments. Its healthcare system in 1994 had 29 doctors, 87 other medical personnel per 1,000 people, 26 hospital beds per 1,000 people, 3,129 general health clinics, 1826 gynecological and pediatrics clinics, and some clinics in the rural areas some of which did not have running water facilities. Private medical practice was limited at that time to general medicine, with surgery and treatment of serious diseases disallowed to private practitioners. That gave rise to the number of acupuncturists, substance abuse therapists, so-called fertility consultants, dentists, physical therapists, and even quack doctors or charlatans.

The quality of healthcare started to decline after the collapse of the Soviet Union primarily because of lack of funds and the emigration of technical experts in the medical profession. After the government started to implement reform programs for healthcare in the country, its healthcare system started to pick up. In 2009, it had 57,000 doctors, 126,000 other medical personnel, 1,054 hospitals, 3,720 short-stay clinics, and 3,462 emergency medical institutions. The reform programs include compulsory health insurance system, increased wages for health workers, and construction of more hospitals and clinics, dispensaries and other medical facilities.