Kyrgyzstan increases funding for childhood cancer treatment
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Aigul Japarova, First Lady of Kyrgyzstan, announced a 200-fold increase in funding for pediatric oncology within the country.
She made this announcement while attending the World Summit on Investing in Children’s Well-Being and the Second International Congress on Childhood Cancer in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Japarova explained that a decade ago, limited funding severely restricted cancer care for children in Kyrgyzstan, but recent investment has led to improvements in treatment access in Bishkek and Osh.
The First Lady highlighted Kyrgyzstan’s recent achievements in pediatric oncology, including the country’s first bone marrow transplant completed in 2024 and the opening of a palliative care unit. She acknowledged ongoing global challenges in childhood cancer treatment, noting that survival rates differ significantly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries. Approximately 400,000 children worldwide receive a cancer diagnosis each year.
Japarova emphasized the need for international cooperation to improve outcomes for children with cancer, proposing increased experience sharing and joint training programs for medical specialists. She expressed optimism that Central Asia can contribute to the World Health Organization’s goal of achieving a 60 percent survival rate for children with cancer globally by 2030, and called for unified efforts to guarantee quality care for all children.
