The central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan is a nation of just over 6.2 million, with a relatively young population: 67% of the total population is under age of 35, and 64% of the population is within the working age, ages 15 to 64. Kyrgyzstan has adopted successive reforms to transform its health system. This included the establishment of a single purchaser, the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund (MHIF), which pools funds at the national level to purchase a standardized package of services. The country was among the first former Soviet Union countries to shift from input‐ to output‐based budgeting. A reform of the service delivery model to promote family medicine practices and rationalize excess hospital capacity improved the efficiency of the system. Although the Government has prioritized health in their budget, Government spending on health amounts to only US$33 per capita and out‐of‐pocket payments remain high, representing 56% of current health spending. The spread of COVID‐19 can jeopardize the progress the country has made. Therefore, WHO and development partners continuously advocate to keep investing in preparedness and strengthening the health system against COVID‐19 to mitigate the broader socio‐economic costs of the pandemic.
Click here to read the full case study about Kyrgyzstan
Learn more about WHO’s response to COVID-19