President instructed the regions to attract $150 million each for healthcare and announced new measures for private medicine

Growth of the private sector and regional imbalance

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting with healthcare and pharmaceutical workers, at which he set out tasks for the sector, reports Spot.uz. According to the outlet, since 2017 the number of private clinics in the country has grown 2.5-fold, reaching 9,000. In certain high-tech areas, the private sector has taken the larger share of the market: 90% of dental services, 70% of diagnostic complexes, and 60% of services provided by ENT specialists, urologists and ophthalmologists.

What changes for the regions and business

At the same time, the president pointed to uneven development: while in Tashkent, Andijan, Fergana, Namangan and Samarkand 35–40% of private clinics have inpatient beds, in Karakalpakstan and the Navoi, Jizzakh and Syrdarya regions the figure is below 15%. In his assessment, nephrology, oncology, neurosurgery, medical rehabilitation, psychiatry and narcology are insufficiently developed — these areas have been instructed to receive priority attention.

Land, outsourcing and the investment target

The practical measures affect both entrepreneurs and public medical institutions. Every year, land plots intended exclusively for private clinics will be put up for sale in the regions on preferential terms. When building new cities and residential massifs, medical infrastructure is to be planned in advance — hospitals and clinics will be built according to a master plan taking into account population size and location.

Bioethics and cooperation with Harvard

Public medical institutions will move to purchasing a number of services under an outsourcing model — laboratory services, sterilization, rehabilitation and hemodialysis. Businesses will be given space in hospitals and polyclinics to install modern equipment, and payment for services is promised through the health insurance system. The key quantitative target: in 2027, each region must attract at least $150 million in investments and grants for healthcare; the khokims have been given relevant instructions.

Bioethics and cooperation with Harvard

A separate topic was new methods of treating severe diseases using biotechnology, genomic and cell-based solutions. “In research related to human life and health, a person’s rights, consent and dignity must come first,” Mirziyoyev noted. A sustainable legal framework is planned to be developed for bioethics and biotechnology, and, in cooperation with Harvard Medical School, training of specialists in hereditary diseases is to be established and genetic screenings organized. Earlier, Spot reported that in Uzbekistan a proposal was made to allow private clinics to perform organ transplantation.