30 April 2025 – The Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with the support of the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), held an Online Seminar on Epidemiological Safety, Public Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals. Since 2021, Kazakhstan has been coordinating this area under the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures. The event was attended by experts from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Russia and Uzbekistan.
Welcoming addresses were delivered by Deputy Chair of the Committee of Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Healthcare of Kazakhstan Roza Kozhapova and Deputy Secretary General of CICA Farid Damirli. The Secretariat representative reminded the participants of the background of this confidence building measure in the CICA Catalogue, the Member States’ efforts in this area over the past four years and the plan of thematic activities for 2025.
The seminar featured presentations by experts from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan. The participants discussed a wide range of issues, including ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well-being, implementing the national immunization schedule, developing the Law “On Biological Safety,” disease prevention and antibiotic consumption in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan’s experience in responding to monkeypox outbreaks and Russia’s international cooperation in combating infectious diseases. Experts from Uzbekistan presented the results of a number of clinical trials in the field of cancer prevention and treatment.
Moreover, it was noted that the creation of sustainable and efficient health systems is seen as an important contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (2030 Agenda), in particular in terms of ensuring the health and well-being of the population.
The Secretariat’s expert on new challenges and threats Adel Adaileh made a separate presentation, providing an overview of key health risks in the West Asian region. He noted that the combination of armed conflict, migration, poor infrastructure, climate change and the rise of antimicrobial resistance significantly increases the vulnerability of health systems. At the same time, promising areas of development were outlined: the introduction of digital technologies, the expansion of regional cooperation and the integration of climate adaptation into health policy.
At the end of his speech, Ambassador Adaileh stressed that CICA, recognizing the importance of healthcare as an integral part of regional security, actively promotes the exchange of experience and capacity building of the Member States.
While sharing their views, participants emphasized the significant value of the CICA platform as a venue for meaningful dialogue, information exchange and coordination of measures in the field of epidemiological safety. Such a format of interaction plays an important role in strengthening cohesion among the Member States and developing coordinated approaches to common challenges. The participants also stressed the need to accelerate work on the draft concept paper of cooperation in the area of epidemiological safety, public health and pharmaceuticals to bring interaction to a new level.
