President: About 60% of state budget expenses to go to social sector

He said that it is planned to reconstruct and repair 380 general schools, 161 professional colleges and academic lyceums in education sphere in 2014 and over 410 billion soums will be directed to these projects.

Uzbekistan plans to spend 173 billion soums in 2014 to construct, reconstruct and equip 34 higher educational institutions. In particular, it is planned to construct new campus and information resource centers at Andijan State University, Karshi State University and Uzbek State University of World Languages, and other institutes. It is planned to direct 51 billion soums to repair 17 universities.

President said that over 407 billion soums were allocated to strengthen material and technical base of healthcare establishments, which will grow by 30% compared to 2013. It is planned to attract preferential loans of international financial institutions for over US$28 million to equip medical institutions this year, he added.

He said that Uzbekistan will start construction of the specialized multifield children clinic of the highest international standard, the fourth level, in 2014, which will have no analogues in the CIS space.

President Islam Karimov said that the clinic will have 250 beds and polyclinic for 200 visits per shift. He said that the clinic is constructed due to loan of the Government of Republic of Korea for US$103 million.

Due to resources of the Fund for Development of Children Sport, it is planned to allocate 107 billion soums to construction and reconstruction of 115 children sports objects and their equipment. The part of equipment will be produced by local enterprises.

Uzbek leader said that Uzbekistan constructed 28 professional colleges and reconstructed and repaired 131 colleges and academic lyceums, as well as 45 objects of higher educational institutions in 2013. Some 55 children art and music schools, 112 children sports objects and four pools were commission in 2013. All of them were equipped with necessary equipment and tools.

He said that 2013 became important step in transition from the system of primary medical-sanitary aid to family medicine principle, which helped to provide skilled medical aid to over 14.6 million people from rural areas. This helped to decrease level of hospitalization from 12.5% in 2009 to 10.8% in 2013.

He said that women of fertility age were also covered with medical aid. In 2011-2013, over 535 pregnant women were screened to reveal hereditary and congenital diseases. In 2013, this helped to prevent birth of about 2,700 children with congenital anomalies and malformations.

Overall implementation of the programme “Screening of mother and child” helped to decrease number of infants with congenital anomalies and malformations by 1.8 times compared to 2000.