Prime minister orders on-time completion of rural healthcare facilitiesKazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has directed the government to make sure that the construction of 188 healthcare facilities in the country’s rural areas will be completed without delays."The Ministry of Health must ensure weekly monitoring of the construction progress of all 188 medical facilities and the renovation of hospitals. All necessary measures must be taken to procure and equip these facilities with modern medical equipment in a timely manner. Regional governors must ensure that all planned medical facilities are commissioned this year without a single delay, without compromising the quality of work," Bektenov said a Tuesday meeting of the government.The prime minister also called for early recruitment of medical personnel and provision of full social support packages for them. To accelerate the process, he instructed the Ministry of Industry and Construction to complete by June 1 the state expertise review of hospital modernization projects without bureaucratic delays.According to Bektenov, the government has allocated about 120 billion tenge from the national budget for the construction of primary healthcare facilities, and over 31 billion tenge for the reconstruction of district hospitals. These funds include contributions from the special state fund that accumulates all illegally acquired assets that have been recovered.Construction has already been completed in the Kostanay, Kyzylorda, Mangystau, North Kazakhstan and Turkestan regions. However, the implementation of National Healthcare Project is still at risk in the Zhetysu, Ulytau, Zhambyl, Aktobe, Akmola and Karaganda regions."It is the lack of control by the regional governors over timely planning and construction that delays the implementation of the National Project. The construction needs to be completed during warm weather this year," Bektenov said.Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova reported that since 2023, as many as 467 out of the planned 655 healthcare facilities under the Rural Healthcare Modernization Project have been built. The remaining 188 facilities are scheduled for completion by the end of this year. The ministry also confirmed plans to send 143 healthcare workers to rural areas as the facilities become operational. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX