29.04.2024

According to UNICEF and WHO, the neonatal mortality rate in Kazakhstan in the first years of the country’s independence was 23 per thousand. This means that for every thousand newborns, five children died before they reached the age of one month. Today, the situation is much better: at the end of 2022, the infant mortality rate was less than 5 per thousand. This is very close to the European Union figure and is the best indicator among Central Asian countries.

According to Bekturgan Karin, Chief Consulting Neonatologist of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President of the Congress of Obstetricians, Gynaecologists and Neonatologists of Kazakhstan, the significant improvement in the infant mortality situation in the country is the result of a number of measures related to the care of newborns, especially those born prematurely.

«The main goal of our country’s neonatal service, which brings together thousands of doctors and nurses from perinatal centres and maternity hospitals, is to constantly improve the quality of medical care. And quality depends first and foremost on the knowledge, experience and skills of doctors and nurses. Secondly, I can say with confidence that the perinatal centres are equipped with medical equipment that complies with the latest international technologies, practises and methods of neonatal care. The AYALA Charity Foundation has been helping us effectively for a long time. This organisation is the only one in our country that has specialised in neonatology and perinatology for 17 years. It knows all our needs and problems inside out and therefore always comes with concrete help in the form of equipment and training,» says the Chief Consulting Neonatologist.

Since 2007, the AYALA Charity Foundation has equipped 67 medical centres in Kazakhstan at a cost of more than 2.3 billion tenge. According to Bekturgan Karin, most of the country’s perinatal centres have received CPAP machines, incubators for premature newborns, automatic hypothermia devices, retinal cameras and lasers for the diagnosis and treatment of retinopathy for the first time thanks to the Foundation’s projects.

«For various reasons, it is not always possible for the state to equip all institutions with modern equipment at once. That’s why the interaction between this Charity Foundation and the Ministry of Health always takes place where it helps to solve urgent problems in neonatal care as quickly and efficiently as possible,» says the expert.

This was the case with the reduction of infant mortality in premature newborns when, with Chevron’s support, all intensive care units in the regional perinatal centres were equipped with special incubators and ventilators within three years. As a result, the mortality rate for newborn babies under one month old fell threefold across the country.

«The cooperation between the AYALA Charity Foundation and its main partner companies has made it possible to solve a number of problems in the health care of children in Kazakhstan in a short time. I can confidently say that without this partnership it would have taken years. I would like to give you an example of retinopathy of prematurity: In 2.5 years, the Foundation has helped to reduce visual impairment in premature newborns to almost zero across the country. I would like to emphasise that this project, as well as a number of other projects in neonatology, did not require hundreds of millions of tenge from the state budget. For example, more than 300 pieces of medical equipment were purchased: artificial lung ventilators, incubators, resuscitation tables, foetal monitors, syringe and infusion pumps, phototherapy machines, oxygen concentrators, electric suction machines, hypothermia machines, EEG monitoring equipment, ophthalmoscopes, retinal cameras, a top-of-the-range ultrasound machine, a biochemical analyser and a microscope – all purchased with the support of Chevron, a partner of the AYALA Foundation, and given to government medical facilities that are successfully saving the lives and health of children every day,» continues Bekturgan Karin.

The expert also believes that in order to improve the quality of medical services, it is very important that both neonatologists and the nursing staff of perinatal centres and maternity hospitals undergo continuous professional training.

«The AYALA Online Academy platform with video courses is an excellent tool for all doctors and nurses who want to further their professional development. The courses from leading practitioners can be viewed anywhere. Over the past 15 years, thanks to the active participation of Chevron, dozens of free offline training courses, workshops and conferences have been organised, attended by both Kazakhstani and foreign specialists. They have helped hundreds of my colleagues to achieve a breakthrough in the quality of neonatal care for the population of Kazakhstan. It is the advanced knowledge applied here and now in practise that helps to achieve the main effect – the reduction of neonatal mortality,» emphasises the Chief Consulting Neonatologist.

Modern foreign equipment is used in neonatal intensive care units in Kazakhstan, and not only doctors but also nursing staff should be able to work with it properly.

«For the development of neonatal care and further reduction of infant mortality in the country, it is crucial to improve the professional skills of neonatal nurses. That is why we organise training courses in online format every Wednesday. The nurses themselves prepare the topics that interest them. Last year, with the support of the AYALA Foundation, Chevron and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the International Forum for Neonatal Nurses was organised for the first time. The result was excellent. A professional association was founded, and our experiences were taken up by neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. Other Central Asian countries are also interested,» says the speaker.

The level of development and quality of neonatal care in the Republic of Kazakhstan is also reflected in the fact that Kazakhstani specialists are asked for help and consultations by colleagues from other countries and our doctors are invited to workshops and conferences abroad.

«Neonatologists from Tajikistan and Russia took part in online sessions on confidential neonatal mortality reviews. We hold these discussions to conduct a thorough, anonymous analysis of cases of premature infant mortality in the community of doctors, without reference to a city and a medical institution. This approach not only provides doctors with the opportunity to learn from practise, but also to refine their professional skills, infant management tactics, diagnosis and treatment. Between 50 and 100 specialists, including young doctors, take part in the weekly discussions. We are all grateful to the AYALA Foundation for financially supporting these meetings,» says Bekturgan Karin.

With the Foundation’s support, the neonatologists in Kazakhstan also analyse scientific articles on a weekly basis, which are published in English in the world’s leading medical journals. Doctors from 5 countries take part in the neonatologists’ «Journal Club» meetings. Young Kazakhstani specialists report to their colleagues online based on the translated material. During the discussion, the community of doctors from all regions of the country will have access to the latest global experience in the field of neonatology.

«The main goal of all neonatologists is of course to improve the quality of neonatal care. This cannot be achieved if specialists are not constantly trained and the country’s perinatal centres are not equipped with the latest equipment. Therefore, Chevron’s active participation in the AYALA Charity Foundation’s projects in the field of neonatology and perinatology helps to reduce the most important indicator for our country – infant mortality,» emphasised Bekturgan Karin.

Aidan Suleimenova, Founder and President of the AYALA Charity Foundation also noted the important role of Chevron in the development of Kazakhstan’s healthcare system.

«This long-standing collaboration is making a significant contribution to the health of the nation and to achieving one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Together with our partners, we are always there to help the state solve urgent problems with advanced medical technologies, knowledge, expertise and experience,» concluded the President of the Foundation.