Overview

Kazakhstan’s healthcare sector accounted for roughly 2.9% of GDP in 2020. Government priorities in this sector include developing the country’s primary healthcare networks, improving its public health administration system, providing expanded medical personnel training, enhancing mother and child health services and emphasizing preventive measures such as diagnostics, treatment of lifestyle diseases, patient rehabilitation and development of personalized medicine. The Kazakhstani government allocated approximately USD 5.4 billion from the 2021 budget to the country’s healthcare sector .

In 2019, the government approved the State Program for the Development of Healthcare 2020-2025.  Target indicators under the program include increasing life expectancy to 75 years; reducing the risk of premature mortality of people 30 to 70 years of age due to cardiovascular, oncological, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes; reduction of maternal mortality from 15.5 to 14.5 per 100,000 live births and reduction of infant mortality from 9.0 to 8.3 per 1000 live births.  The total budget of the program is estimated at USD 7.5 billion based on 2020 exchange rates. 

Opportunities

The market for medical equipment in Kazakhstan is roughly USD 1.3 billion.  Domestic manufacturing of medical equipment is limited in Kazakhstan, with 90% of equipment imported.  The bulk (85%) of medical equipment in Kazakhstan is purchased by the public sector. Most procurement for public healthcare institutions is done through government-related tenders.  More than 37% of medical equipment currently in use is obsolete and the government recognizes the need to update equipment in use in the country’s public hospitals.

Local producers of medical equipment are unable to fully supply the market with necessary equipment and there are no capabilities to develop a strong local industry in the near term. Currently, there are about 60 companies in Kazakhstan registered as medical equipment producers, most of which are small businesses with insignificant production volumes.

In December 2019, the Kazakhstani government and EBRD signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of a Comprehensive Program for the Modernization of Healthcare Infrastructure in Kazakhstan (https://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/82870-tors.pdf?blobnocache=true).  The program envisages the construction of up to 19 new hospitals to replace 40 outdated existing facilities and the upgrade of up to 50% of the hospital bed capacity in Kazakhstan as part of the State Health Care Development Program for 2020–2024.  Hospital projects under the State Program will follow the facility management model and will be procured as Public Private Partnerships or utilize the Design, Build, Operate and Maintain approach. The hospitals included in this initial first phase of the program include: Kyzylorda, Kokshetau, Kostanai, Taraz, Pavlodar and Atyrau.  In 2020, the EBRD issued a solicitation to identify a consultancy for the development of a comprehensive healthcare needs assessment and functional specifications for these hospitals.

Leading Sub-Sectors

• electro-medical diagnostic and therapy equipment;
• diagnostic imaging with a special emphasis on X-ray equipment and supplies;
• equipment for cardiology and cardio surgery;
• chemotherapy, mammography, radiotherapy, and computed tomography equipment;
• neurosurgery equipment; 
• diabetic supplies;
• laboratory equipment; 
• healthcare digitalization and mobile health technologies.

Resources

• Trade Show: KIHE 2023: Kazakhstan International Healthcare Exhibition, May 17-19, 2023, Almaty, Kazakhstan
• Trade Show: Astana Zdorovie: International Kazakhstan Exhibition on Healthcare, October 26-28, 2022, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
• Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan (http://kamld.kz/)
• For more information contact Commercial Specialist Nurlan.Zhangarin@trade.gov