BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan announced on Friday it was facing a shortage of medicines, particularly for treating serious illnesses in the Central Asian country, that imports almost all pharmaceutical products.
Landlocked Kyrgyzstan is one of the poorest of the former Soviet republics and brings in most of its medicines from Russia, India and Pakistan.
Many Kyrgyz have to build up considerable savings in order to receive treatment abroad — a practice authorities have promised to end.
In 2023, the Kyrgyz government set up a state-owned company — Kyrgyzpharmacy — to centralize the distribution to hospitals of medicines needed to treat cancer, blood diseases and epilepsy.
The measure — which involved buying medicines directly from manufacturers — was designed to combat corruption.
“The company needs 3.5 billion Som — more than 38.5 million euros ($40 million) — to guarantee the purchase of medicine and increase volumes,” said Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev.
The government has also launched a network of state-run pharmacies designed to bring down the price of medicines — which is higher than in most other ex-Soviet states.
The health minister acknowledged on Friday that most of them were not profitable and announced he had sacked the head of Kyrgyzphamarcy, at the request of President Sadyr Japarov.
Members of parliament have warned about the shortage of medicines, criticized the state of the medical infrastructure and suggested raising funds for children with cancer.
On Thursday, parliamentary speaker Nurlan Shakiyev said: “Supply of medicines to the population is a thorny issue.”
He noted the public was “concerned about a significant increase in the price of essential and sought-after medicines.”
Medicine shortage sparks worry in Central Asian Kyrgyzstan
https://arab.news/zern5
Medicine shortage sparks worry in Central Asian Kyrgyzstan
- Landlocked Kyrgyzstan is one of the poorest of former Soviet republics and brings in most of medicines from Russia, India and Pakistan
- Many Kyrgyz have to build up considerable savings in order to receive treatment abroad, a practice that authorities have promised to end
Zelensky says peace proposals to end the war in Ukraine could be presented to Russia within days
- But issues like the status of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia remain unresolved. US-led peace efforts are gaining momentum
- But Russian President Vladimir Putin may resist some proposals including security guarantees for Ukraine
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says proposals being negotiated with US officials for a peace deal to end his country’s nearly four-year war with Russia could be finalized within days, after which American envoys will present them to the Kremlin before further possible meetings in the United States next weekend.
Zelensky told reporters late Monday that a draft peace plan discussed with the US during talks in Berlin earlier in the day is “very workable.” He cautioned, however, that some key issues — notably what happens to Ukrainian territory occupied by invading Russian forces — remain unresolved.
U.S-led peace efforts appear to be picking up momentum. But Russian President Vladimir Putin may balk at some of the proposals thrashed out by officials from Washington, Kyiv and Western Europe, including postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Tuesday that Russia wants a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary truce.
If Ukraine seeks “momentary, unsustainable solutions, we are unlikely to be ready to participate,” Peskov said.
“We want peace — we don’t want a truce that would give Ukraine a respite and prepare for the continuation of the war,” he told reporters. “We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future.”
American officials on Monday said that there’s consensus from Ukraine and Europe on about 90 percent of the US-authored peace plan. US President Donald Trump said: “I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever” to a peace settlement.
Plenty of potential pitfalls remain, however.
Zelensky reiterated that Kyiv rules out recognizing Moscow’s control over any part of the Donbas, an economically important region in eastern Ukraine made up of Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia’s army doesn’t fully control either.
“The Americans are trying to find a compromise,” Zelensky said, before visiting the Netherlands on Tuesday. “They are proposing a ‘free economic zone’ (in the Donbas). And I want to stress once again: a ‘free economic zone’ does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation.”
The land issue remains one of the most difficult obstacles to a comprehensive agreement.
Putin wants all the areas in four key regions that his forces have seized, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory.
Zelensky warned that if Putin rejects diplomatic efforts, Ukraine expects increased Western pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and additional military support for defense. Kyiv would seek enhanced air defense systems and long-range weapons if diplomacy collapses, he said.
Ukraine and the US are preparing up to five documents related to the peace framework, several of them focused on security, Zelensky said.
He was upbeat about the progress in the Berlin talks.
“Overall, there was a demonstration of unity,” Zelensky said. “It was truly positive in the sense that it reflected the unity of the US, Europe, and Ukraine.”
