Kazakhstan Is Going to Develop a Law on Biological Safety and Security
In 2021 Kazakhstan is going to develop a new law on biological safety and security. The move is aimed at improving safety and security systems around biological centers to protect them against either unintended or intended threats including potential terrorist attacks, according to Alexey Tsoy, minister of health.
As the official has noted, the sanitary-epidemiological service was significantly enforced in 2020. Thus, the Committee of Sanitary and Epidemiologic Control has been created while the powers of the chief sanitary doctor have been expanded.
Also, those who work in the sanitary-epidemiological system are now receiving a higher salary; the raise has started in January of this year. To support this service in the future, the sanitary hygienic faculties have been restored in several medical institutes in Kazakhstan.
Moreover, to improve the service and guarantee biosafety and security, about 55 billion tenge ($131.8 million) will be allocated for that purpose for 2022-2025. By the end of this period, a new conception of the service’s digitalization should be created.
«As part of this work we are suggesting to make some amendments to the current legislation to improve the system for health estimation, analysis, and forecasting. We’ll also improve the whole system of responding to those threats and risks,» Tsoy added.
The ministry has already bought 459 items of laboratory equipment and 12 mobile laboratories for COVID-10 and other virus detection. It’s expected that this equipment, which costs 2.9 billion tenge ($6.9 million), will strengthen the sanitary epidemiologic service. The Ministry of Health is planning to repair 54 buildings of territorial divisions of the Committee of Sanitary and Epidemiologic Control as well as 27 buildings of the National Center of Expertise over the period of 2022-2024. On top of this, three brand-new buildings will be also constructed and 64 vehicles will be bought.
Kazakhstan is not the only state in the region that wants to strengthen sanitary and epidemiologic control. A similar decision to develop the law on biological safety and security was made in the Republic of Uzbekistan last year.
