25.09.2024

Neonatologists from the United States, France, Sweden, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Poland, together with their Kazakh colleagues, meet at the scientific and practical conference, which takes place on September 25 and 26 in Almaty. The conference is held for the first time in Kazakhstan and is aimed at improving quality of medical care for newborns and premature babies and further reducing neonatal mortality rates in our country.

At the forum, the leading experts from different countries discuss key issues in the field of neonatology, including best practices in initial primary neonatal resuscitation during the Golden Hour, the use of special nutrition to support premature and sick newborns, international approaches to respiratory support, infection control in newborns, progressive management tactics in high-risk pregnancies and other relevant issues.

The conference was organized by the Congress of Obstetrician Gynecologists and Neonatologists of Kazakhstan at the initiative of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the support of the Medical University of Astana and AYALA Charity Foundation.

Bekturgan Karin, the Chief Freelance Neonatologist of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the President of the Congress of Obstetrician Gynecologists and Neonatologists of Kazakhstan, believes that this Conference is a significant contribution to reducing neonatal mortality in the Central Asian region and will help make cooperation with international and regional leaders in neonatology and perinatology even more productive.

«Now the neonatal service in Kazakhstan includes thousands of doctors and nurses from perinatal centers, maternity hospitals, who are constantly working to improve the quality of medical care. Quality, first of all, depends on knowledge, experience and skills of both doctors and nurses. Therefore, holding conferences with participation of leading international practitioners is critically important for the development of neonatology in our country. We are grateful to the AYALA Charity Foundation for their years long support of our educating initiatives,» Bekturgan Karin emphasized.  

According to UNICEF and WHO, in the first years of Kazakhstan’s independence, 23 per thousand newborns died in the first month of life. Now the situation has improved significantly — at the end of 2022, the infant mortality rate was less than 5 per thousand. This is very close to the European Union countries and the best indicator among the countries of Central Asia. Aidan Suleimenova, the Founder and President of Ayala Charity Foundation, is convinced that it was the exchange of advanced practical knowledge from the best international experts that helped Kazakhstan to achieve such a significant reduction in neonatal mortality.

«For 14 years, the AYALA Charity Foundation organizes free master classes and workshops and supports conferences to help develop the professional competencies of Kazakhstani neonatologists, nurses, and obstetricians. We are actively working on development of the AYALA Academy online platform with free video courses in Kazakh available from any mobile device. For several years, we help in holding online clubs, by bringing together neonatologists and neonatal nurses from different countries. The gained knowledge and everyday use of the best international experience by our doctors created a basis for a real breakthrough in quality of neonatal medical care in Kazakhstan,» Aidan Suleimenova said.

At the conference sponsored by AstraZeneca, Baxter, MedConceptService, Drager and Acino, 26 candidates of medical sciences, professors and experts from medical centers such as the Paris-Saclay University Hospitals (France), from the Cleveland Clinic Children’s and Pediatric Cleveland Institute (USA), from the Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, from the Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital of the University of Sahlgrenska (Sweden), the Poznan University of Medical Sciences (Poland), from the Republican Perinatal Center for Neonatal Issues (Uzbekistan), from the National Center for Protection of Motherhood and Childhood (Kyrgyzstan), from the Scientific Center for Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery in Almaty, the Medical University of Astana, the Regional Perinatal Centers of Turkestan, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, Taraz, and other leading Kazakhstani medical institutions presented their reports.