Kyrgyzstan 2021 © Maxime Fossat

Kyrgyzstan

The prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in Kyrgyzstan, one of the poorest nations in the Central Asian region, remains very high.

Our work in Kyrgyzstan

In Kyrgyzstan, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) launched a new project focused on women’s health and continued to run health care programs in Batken province. We also assisted with the COVID-19 response.

What's happening in Kyrgyzstan?

Kyrgyzstan has an inadequate health care system, experiencing frequent shortages, and today, many people struggle to access free treatment for DR-TB.

The rates of drug resistance among new TB cases are as high as one-third, and in previously treated TB cases, more than half of patients have developed the drug-resistant form of the disease.

We provide outpatient care for people with DR-TB, thereby limiting the time they have to spend in the hospital. Patients attend monthly medical consultations at one of three TB clinics supported by us and include psychological support.

How we're helping in Kyrgyzstan

Our teams started to prepare new activities in Sokuluk, Chui province to improve early detection, treatment, and prevention of breast and cervical cancer. Kyrgyzstan is among the countries with the highest prevalence of cervical cancer, and lack of active screening means that women are diagnosed at a very late stage. Our new project will pilot decentralizing cancer prevention and care by integrating detection and treatment into basic health care facilities.

In Chui province, which experienced a high number of COVID-19 cases, our teams continued to provide home-based care for people showing mild and moderate COVID-19 symptoms, and organized referrals for those requiring hospital treatment. As new infections fell, we stopped these activities in April.

After delays caused by COVID-19 in 2020, our teams were finally able to conduct a comprehensive health risk assessment in Aiderkan, Batken province, to determine the extent of people’s exposure to heavy metal pollution. Initial results revealed chronic exposure to heavy metals, including arsenic and antimony, especially among children. As a result, our teams will initiate activities to treat patients with high levels of heavy metal pollution in 2022, while advocating for stronger clinical and public health measures to treat and prevent the risk of heavy metal pollution.

In addition, our teams in Aiderkan continued to offer treatment for chronic diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes, as well as sexual and reproductive health care and screening for cervical and breast cancer. In April, when fighting broke out along the disputed Kyrgyz–Tajik border in Batken province, our teams swiftly mobilized to provide basic health care and psychosocial counseling to displaced people.

How we're helping in 2021

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