Bishkek, April 10, 2025. /Kabar/. Minister of Health of Kyrgyzstan Erkin Checheibaev takes an active part in the 5th meeting of health ministers of the Organization of Turkic-speaking states (OTS) in Astana.
The Ministry reported that the event brought together representatives of health departments of the OTS countries to discuss key areas of cooperation in the field of public health, strengthening health systems and jointly responding to modern challenges.
The meeting summarized the results of the 4th meeting of health ministers of the OTS, outlined the achieved results, and outlined new guidelines for cooperation. The participants paid special attention to the role of international organizations in supporting the development of national health systems of the OTS countries, exchanging best practices and coordinating actions at the regional level.
Following the meeting, the Action Plan of the OTS Working Groups for 2025–2026 was approved, aimed at implementing priority tasks in the field of healthcare, including the development of primary health care, prevention of non-communicable diseases, digitalization of health services and increasing the resilience of health systems to emergencies.
A significant event of the meeting was the signing of the Joint Declaration, reflecting the desire of the OTS member states to expand cooperation in the field of medicine and healthcare. This document emphasizes the commitment of the countries to strengthening solidarity, developing human resources, and improving the population's access to quality health services.
During his speech, Minister of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic Erkin ChecheIbaev noted the key role that Kazakhstan plays in strengthening primary health care systems and emphasized the importance of exchanging experience between the OTS countries in this area. He expressed gratitude for Kazakhstan's initiatives to develop sustainable and accessible health systems and emphasized the need to intensify interaction between the member countries. The minister's speech placed special emphasis on the importance of consolidating efforts to develop the pharmaceutical industry, including not only the production of finished drugs, but also raw materials and pharmaceutical substances. According to him, this will be a significant step towards strengthening the drug safety of the OTS states and ensures the stability of drug supplies for the population. In this regard, Minister Checheibaev also called on the OTScountries to consider the possibility of implementing consolidated purchases of expensive drugs, especially for the treatment of orphan diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), cancer, post-transplant conditions, diabetes mellitus (insulin-dependent forms), as well as other severe and chronic diseases. Such cooperation will optimize costs and increase the availability of vital drugs for citizens. Minister Checheibaev also called on the participating countries to intensify measures aimed at combating risk factors for public health, including the spread of smoking, alcohol abuse, as well as insufficient physical activity and unbalanced nutrition. He emphasized that prevention and the formation of a healthy lifestyle are the basis for sustainable development of public health. The Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic expresses its readiness to deepen cooperation within the framework of the amalgamated territorial communities and is confident that the agreements reached will contribute to improving the health and well-being of the peoples of the Turkic-speaking world.