The II National Forum of Healthcare Leaders was held On November 11-12, 2022 in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.
The forum was organized by the Kazakhstani Association of Healthcare Managers, accredited by the Ministry of Healthcare, and co-hosted by the P4H Global Network, with support from the World Health Organization headquarters and the country office. The event was held in a conference format and was titled “Focus on the Challenges of the Future”.
Timur Sultangaziyev, First Vice Minister of Healthcare and Kuanysh Ergaliyev, Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education, welcomed the audience. More than 130 professionals – health care leaders and experts, university rectors, hospital CEOs attended the conference held at the Nazarbayev University main building. In addition, more than 1,000 people participated online by watching YouTube streaming.
- In his speech, First Vice Minister Dr Sultangaziyev recalled that Kazakhstan is one of the first countries in the CIS that introduced a qualification requirement for a master’s degree or a second higher education in healthcare management or public health for CEO positions in health care organizations more than 14 years ago. Thanks to these and other measures, the country observed a qualitative improvement of health leaders’ competencies in the last decade, and this experience of Kazakhstan is borrowed by neighboring countries.
- The First Vice Minister emphasized: “For five years at the state level, we have been implementing the best corporate governance practices by creating supervisory boards, increasing the transparency of organizations through publication of corporate governance documents in the public domain. Despite areas for improvement, we have firmly and steadily implemented elements of corporate governance in the public sector and have well taught the principles of corporate governance to healthcare leaders.” Timur Sultangaziyev concluded that “it is important to cultivate the professionalism of healthcare leaders, which is what the Kazakhstan’s Association of Healthcare Managers is called upon to do”.
Mr. Bayarsaikhan Dorjsuren, Senior Health System Adviser, who arrived from WHO Headquarters, also delivered a welcomed speech as a representative of a co-hosting side, P4H Network. A message that health financing is a key connecting component that affects all areas of health care system was quoted and discussed by participants later.
The first day featured four panel sessions: the first one on health financing, followed by others – in human resources in healthcare, quality of care, and modern and digital technologies.
Gulzhan Shaikhybekova, Deputy CEO of the Social Health Insurance Fund of Kazakhstan, presented the case of Kazakhstan as a country that has fully implemented the social health insurance reform. She noted that 2 years after the introduction of the insurance, Kazakhstan enhoyed a 2-fold increase in funding for health care from 1,039 billion tenge to 2,255 billion tenge, and coverage by the second tier “insurance benefits” package reached 82.1% of the population of Kazakhstan, while the first tier “guaranteed benefits” basket extends to 100% of the population, including the foreigners.
The forum created a platform for dialogue, recommendations and sound criticism voiced by independent and private sector experts such as Maksut Kulzhanov, Rakhim Oshakbaev, Leyla Ishbaeva and others.
In a publication about the forum, WHO country office noted that Kazakhstan has implemented consistent reforms and strengthened the health care financing system, expanding coverage, accessibility, and reducing the population’s private spending on health services.
The second day of the forum included thematic master-classes on selected topics of interest.
On the eve of the Forum, First Vice Minister of Health Timur Sultangaziyev held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Dorjsuren and discussed further cooperation between Kazakhstan and the P4H Global Network, including the launch of the Central Asian hub of the network housed at the headquarters of the Social Health Insurance Fund of Kazakhstan.
The event was featured by 16 national news sources, and links to mass media publications are collected in the attached file (in Russian language).
Video interview by Mr Bayarsaikhan Dorjsuren is published by Khabar news agency under this link
Full broadcast on YouTube of Day 1 of the Forum is available here (event was held and recorded in Russian, with simultaneous interpretation in English for onsite participants).
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Text by: Ainur Aiypkhanova
Photo source: by Kazakhstani association of healthcare managers, link here
Photo caption: First Vice-Minister of Healthcare, Timur Sultangaziyev, speaking at the Opening of the Plenary Session, II National Forum of Healthcare Leaders in Kazakhstan, initiated by the Ministry of Healthcare and co-hosted by Kazakhstani Association of Healthcare managers and the P4H Network
