Annually Uzbekistan increases the amount of appropriations from the state budget to address the problems in the public health domain. Compared with 1999 this indicator grew 7.4-fold thus amounting to 480.8 billion soums, Feruz Nazirov, Uzbek Health Minister, said in interview to Business Partner newspaper.

"Foreign investments are now actively attracted to the sector. The Ministry of Public Health is busy implementing 10 foreign-investor funded projects, total amount of which exceeds US3.7 million", minister said. Mr. Nazirov also added, "each year more than 6 million citizens of Uzbekistan receive free emergency medical aid guaranteed by the state".

Over the past decade, according to the ministry, the general death rate dropped by 22%, while infant and maternal mortality plummeted respectively by 68% and 38%. With a view of improving the quality of emergency medical service in the country much attention is being paid to raising the level of skills of medical personnel.

In particular, Mr. Nazirov said that in 2006 some 400 local physicians underwent professional training in clinics of Germany, Russia, Great Britain, Turkey, India and Egypt.

In addition, he said that in the past decade Japan provided Uzbekistan over US million-worth of technical aid needed to strengthen the material and technical base of domestic clinics.

According to Mr. Nazirov, Uzbekistan is currently involved in the implementation of a US million-worth project from the Global Fund on AIDS/HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.