Financing for Pediatric Oncology in Kyrgyzstan Increased 200-fold Over Ten Years

State financing for pediatric oncology in Kyrgyzstan has increased more than 200-fold over ten years, according to data presented by First Lady Aigul Japarova at the World Summit on Investment in Child Well-being in Samarkand on October 21–22.

The summit and II International Congress on Pediatric Oncology are being held in Uzbekistan with representatives from more than 100 countries attending. The Ministry of Health had cited this financing growth figure previously: in May 2024, Health Minister Damirbek Osmonov cited the same figure at the World Health Assembly.

Aigul Japarova highlighted two specific achievements: the opening of a palliative care unit at the National Center for Maternal and Child Health and the first bone marrow transplant performed on a child in Kyrgyzstan in 2024.

At the same time, the system continues to experience resource shortages. Sultan Stambekov estimated in a February 2024 interview with Kabar that the minimum annual need for pediatric oncology services is 300–400 million som and noted that certain high-tech treatment methods and medications remain inaccessible within the country, and in cases of relapse, some families are forced to seek treatment abroad.

On the sidelines of the summit, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Eduard Begbeder and the organization's global director of child protection Shima Sengupta held a meeting with representatives of the Kyrgyz government. UNICEF positively assessed social protection programs, including the universal benefit "Bala Yryssy": by October, the number of recipients reached 252,699, and the state allocated 310.5 million som for payments. The parties did not report on the signing of new agreements or allocation of additional financing as a result of the meeting.

Aigul Japarova called on countries to expand experience-sharing, joint training of specialists, and support for families sending children for treatment abroad.