World Health Organization in Kazakhstan (2018)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the global authority on public health within the United Nations. Founded in 1948, we collaborate with the governments of 194 Member States to ensure the highest attainable level of health for all. Currently, more than 7000 people work in 150 country offices, 6 regional offices and at the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Organization’s work is guided by the principle that health is a human right, and we seek to extend universal health coverage, protect people from health emergencies, and ensure that all people enjoy better health and well-being.

Kazakhstan is part of the WHO European Region, which comprises 53 countries: this Region covers a vast geographical area reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. WHO staff in the Region are public health, scientific and technical experts, based in the Regional Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, in five technical centres and in country offices in 30 Member States.

WHO has worked with the Government of Kazakhstan since the WHO Country Office was established in Almaty in 1994. Since 2009, the Country Office has been located in Astana, the country’s capital.

Kazakhstan has also hosted and funded the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care since 2016 in Almaty. This technical centre is responsible for collecting evidence and providing technical advice to support Member States in the design, organization and management of primary health care, integrated services, quality-of-care governance, and performance of services.