Kazakhstan's Rural Medicine Transformation: Health Ministry Report

The Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan has summarized the development of rural medicine over recent years, reports infohub.kz.

Since 2019, 1,263 healthcare facilities have been built in the country. Among the largest are the National Scientific Oncology Center and the National Coordination Center for Emergency Medicine with 200 beds in Astana, as well as the National Scientific Center for Infectious Diseases with 350 beds in Almaty.

Currently, 51 more medical facilities are under construction with a total cost of 108 billion tenge. These include multidisciplinary hospitals with 300 beds each in Kyzylorda and Ust-Kamenogorsk, as well as new polyclinics in Atyrau and North Kazakhstan regions and in Taldykorgan.

Under the national project "Modernization of Rural Healthcare," by the end of 2025, construction of all 655 planned primary healthcare facilities has been completed: 253 medical centers, 160 physician ambulatories, and 242 feldsher-obstetric points.

In parallel, 32 district hospitals are being modernized, 12 of which have been fully renovated. According to the Ministry of Health, after modernization is complete, over 4 million rural residents will be able to receive modern medical care closer to home.

Hospitals are being equipped with modern equipment, including CT scanners and angiographic systems. This allows treating patients with heart attacks and strokes directly in district centers, without referring them to regional hospitals.

Alongside building and equipment upgrades, the staffing issue is being addressed. During 2023–2025 and the first half of 2026, 722 doctors and 1,013 mid-level medical workers have been employed in rural medical organizations.

Another 624 doctors and 642 mid-level specialists have joined district hospitals currently undergoing modernization. The Ministry of Health states that the plan for staffing rural healthcare has been fulfilled 100%.

Earlier, Kursiv reported that 191 projects worth 176.8 billion tenge have been approved for healthcare modernization using returned assets in Kazakhstan.