Overview

Kyrgyzstan’s health system provides a state-guaranteed package of services but there are major gaps in population coverage and the scope of publicly funded care is limited. Most patients have to make co-payments for inpatient care and only 50% of the so-called basic price of a limited list of (some 70) medicines is covered.

Government spending on health has declined, with an increasing share of government spending going to other sectors. Private expenditure has filled the resulting funding gap and just over half of health spending is now out-of-pocket. This heavy reliance on out-of-pocket payments can lead to catastrophic and impoverishing health spending. Despite efforts to ensure access to health care, there are still marked disparities in provision between rural and urban areas, and barriers linked to cost and gaps in mandatory health insurance coverage.

Overall, Kyrgyzstan faces major health challenges in terms of both communicable and noncommunicable diseases. Life expectancy had improved prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but was still one of the lowest in the WHO European Region. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the provision of essential health services, but rates of excess mortality during the pandemic seem to have been much lower than in many countries in the Region. Policies and monitoring systems for antimicrobial consumption and resistance are still at an early stage of development.