Kazakhstan: Advancing Adolescent Heath through Policy and Reform

The 2025 Health Development Policy prioritizes strengthening youth-friendly health centers (YFHCs) in Kazakhstan. The Government of Kazakhstan further committed to YFHCs during the 2019 International Conference on Population and Development (Nairobi Summit, ICPD25). Access to youth-friendly health services in Kazakhstan is limited. There are 128 YFHCs located primarily in large cities and servicing no more than 1% of the total population aged 14–28 annually. Furthermore, the services provided in YFHCs are of uneven quality, not standardized, not clearly defined in the budget-funded, state-guaranteed benefit package, and financed based on the regional authorities’ capability. In 2015, youth-friendly health services were privatized. The Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Centres under which they were placed, were deemed unprofitable. The mandatory social health insurance (MSHI) introduced in Kazakhstan from 2020 did not cover youth-friendly health services.