Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Experts from the Institute for Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research (IPMI) analyzed the main results of the reforms implemented in the healthcare sector in Uzbekistan in 2017-2022.

The reform and transformation of the healthcare sector in Uzbekistan is carried out in accordance with the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026 and the Concept for the Development of the Healthcare System of the Republic of Uzbekistan, approved in 2018. As a result:

1) State budget spending on health care has increased significantly. In 2017-2021, they increased almost 3 times, from 7.33 trillion soums in 2017 to 21.08 trillion soums in 2021. Thus, the share in state budget expenditures amounted to 12.7% in 2021.

2) The total number of enterprises and organizations operating in the healthcare and social services sector increased by 1.8 times compared to 2017 and amounted to 10,547 units at the beginning of 2023.

Today, there are 7,320 private medical institutions, compared to 4,000 in 2017, of which 5,823 are outpatient and 1,497 inpatient. As a result, the volume of services provided in the healthcare sector increased by 3.8 times.

During the period under review, there was a decrease in new cases of morbidity in the population:

- tuberculosis per 100,000 people from 44.9 in 2017 to 35.9 in 2022;

- hepatitis B per 100,000 people from 0.8 in 2017 to 0.3 in 2021

- type 2 diabetes mellitus per 100,000 from 21.4 in 2017 to 18.3 in 2021.

Life expectancy of the population increased from 73.7 years in 2017 to 73.8 years in 2021 due to the improvement of the following indicators:

- the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births decreased from 21 in 2017 to 14.4 in 2021;

- the mortality rate for children under 5 decreased from 15.4 in 2017 to 12.3 in 2021;

- the death rate from suicide among the population per 100,000 people fell from 7.5 in 2017 to 6.4 in 2021.

A significant result of the reforms in the healthcare sector has been the dynamic development of inbound medical tourism in Uzbekistan, which is gaining momentum every year. If in 2017 the number of tourists who arrived in Uzbekistan for the purpose of treatment was 28,705, then in 2022 this figure was 69,984. Thus, a large tourist cluster has been created in Samarkand, including 8 large hotels, one of which provides high-quality medical services (hotel resort type).

The “Concept for the Development of the Healthcare System of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2019-2025” envisages measures aimed at a radical increase in the tourism potential of domestic medical organizations.

The reforms carried out in the healthcare sector have led to an improvement in life expectancy, a decrease in maternal and child mortality, as well as new cases of morbidity in the population. Moreover, the reform of the healthcare system in Uzbekistan has led to the development of healthcare services and inbound medical tourism.