Public health of Kazakhstan is a promising business segment
The 22nd Kazakhstan International Healthcare Exhibition – KIHE 2015 will be held in Almaty on May 13 – 15. The organizers of the event are the exhibition companies Iteca (Kazakhstan) and ITE Group Plc (UK).
Every year, the Exhibition brings together over 300 companies from more than 20 countries and represents about 400 brands on a fairground of 8000 sq. m. in two halls of the International Exhibition Centre "Atakent". More than 5,500 professional visitors attend the Exhibition from all over Central Asia, the CIS and foreign countries.
At times of instability in global financial markets, modern Kazakhstan becomes an attractive platform for doing business, in particular, in medical and pharmaceutical spheres. The Government of the Republic has been successfully implementing several programmes for modernization and development of the healthcare sector. Moreover, given the fact that 80% of the health care institutions in Kazakhstan are state-owned, the state plays an important role in medical sphere and is a major buyer of medication in the market.
Over the past 10 years, the financing of the industry has increased by 5 times. In 2014, the state budget appropriated the allocation of 862 billion of tenge (more than 4 billion of US dollars) for health care industry, including medical education.
Experts estimate the volume of the Kazakhstan market of medical equipment at about 200 million of US dollars per year. Nevertheless, the market is still heavily dependent on imports of medical equipment, which accounts for 90% of the total market volume. According to analysts, the sectors of the highest priority are electric medical equipment, diagnostic equipment, medical lasers, endoscopes, and dental equipment.
It should be noted that manufacturers and distributors of the medical equipment make the basis of KIHE exposition. Domestic companies represent pharmaceuticals, decontaminating equipment, recent developments in dentistry and orthodontics, consumables and much more, along with medical equipment.
Every year, Germany and China represent their national booths at KIHE, demonstrating mainly the manufacturers of medical devices, equipment and healthcare products. Groups of companies from Russia and Turkey also have large-scale expositions.
At the 64th Session of the Regional Committee of the European Regional Office of the WHO, held in September 2014 in Copenhagen, Kazakhstan received support to join the membership of the WHO Executive Board from 2015 to 2018 and was recognized as a leader in the development of primary health care. In the same year, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the WHO signed the Agreement on the opening of a geographically remote office of the World Health Organization on primary health care in Almaty. It will undoubtedly allow expanding bilateral projects in the field of health care, not only for the European region, but in the long term for the whole world and will enable both economic and scheduled development of the healthcare sector and the country as a whole.
Medical tourism has always been the most economically stable segment of the market. Therefore, the organizers of the Exhibition are actively developing the section "Therapeutic and Medical Tourism" within KIHE. The globalization of tourism and healthcare dictates its rules and increasingly more Kazakhs are interested in the diagnosis and treatment abroad. However, the number of foreign patients increases in Kazakhstan hospitals every year. From 2011 to 2014, 4799 people from more than 30 countries received qualified medical care in the clinics of the National Medical Holding and the National Research Medical Centre. The cost of operations in Kazakhstan is much lower than abroad.
For several reasons, based on the specifics of the development of Kazakhstan economy, the development of medical tourism is a unique opportunity for representatives of various countries to establish there a solid business and for long-term investment programmes.
In 2015, the section "Therapeutic and Medical Tourism" within KIHE will be organized in cooperation with the Global Healthcare Travel Council – GHTC, and the event partner – Turkish Healthcare Travel Council (THTC).
This year, a number of activities are timed to KIHE 2015. Starting from May 11, the Kazakhstan Healthcare Week will be held in Almaty in the context of the cooperation of Iteca Company with the National Kazakhstan Medical Association, which also includes the international conference "Eurasian Health Bridge – 2015". The conference will discuss the foundation of the Eurasian Integration Healthcare Committee. More than 1,000 participants will take part in the Kazakhstan Healthcare Week, among them are world-known practitioners, representatives of the governmental and non-governmental organizations, scientists, entrepreneurs, lawyers and many others.
KIHE 2015 will traditionally present a wide range of medical goods and services from companies with various specializations: from manufacturers, dealers and distributors of medical equipment to the manufacturers and suppliers of pharmaceuticals, decontaminating equipment, consumables, and other products used in medicine and health care. In the Exhibition, the participants represent the latest developments, the latest technologies, innovative techniques of treatment and diagnosis.
Business programme of KIHE 2015 includes seminars, workshops and presentations on innovative technologies in healthcare and medicine.
Official support of the event is given by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty city administration, Department of Public Health of Almaty city, the Committee of Monitoring the Medical and Pharmaceutical Activities of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, National Medical Holding JSC, the Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the National Medical Association of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
KAZMEDPRIBOR Holding LLP is the General Partner of the KIHE 2015 Exhibition.
More information about the event, options for participation and sponsorship opportunities is available on the official website of KIHE 2015 – www.kihe.kz.
