Uzbekistan plans to adopt a new model of primary health care, in which family physicians and nurses will be able to earn up to $1,500 and $800 monthly, respectively, Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced at the government meeting today.

According to him, the basic wages of a family physician will be the equivalent of $500, and a nurse - $300. In case of receiving a qualification certificate, the wages will double.

Additionally, if a physician and a nurse work in a neighbourhood, pay attention to patients with chronic diseases, teach them self-monitoring, earlier detection of cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart attack and prevention of severe complications, reducing calls to emergency care and hospitals, the physician will receive an additional $500, and the nurse - another $300.

"In a word, we will create a system in which family physicians will earn the equivalent of $1,500, and nurses - from $600 to $800 per month. In this way, we are not just raising wages, but increasing the value of a person. But the result must be appropriate," the president emphasized.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev also underscored that every case of heart attack, stroke, early death of a mother or child, disability due to chronic diseases in the mahalla should be considered an emergency.

Wages of medical workers are the lowest

The healthcare sector in terms of monthly wages in Uzbekistan is one of the lowest by sectors on 3.63 million soums.

In the first quarter of this year, the growth rate of teachers' wages accelerated, but for physicians - it slowed down sharply. The growth rate of physicians' wages remains below the average growth in the country (18%), which is why the gap between wages in these areas and the national level is growing.

In particular, if in the first quarter of 2022 wages in education were 26.5 percentage points lower than the national level, then by the end of the first quarter of 2024 the gap had increased to 30.2 percentage points. In healthcare, the difference during this time increased from 32 to 37.4 percentage points.

At the end of November, MP Kizilgul Kosimova expressed concern about the impact of low wages of teachers and health workers on the quality of services in these areas. Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov underscored that this issue remains complex. "The main problem is to determine who needs to be paid a high wages and why," he said.