The Korea Foundation held a Korea-Kyrgyzstan symposium on health and medical care in Bishkek on October 4, 2018.

The symposium was designed to promote cooperation in the health and medical care sectors on the occasion of the Korea-Central Asia Caravan event, a public diplomacy program at public and private levels under the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea to strengthen exchange and cooperation between Korea and Central Asian countries.

In cooperation with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the symposium was organized by the Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum Secretariat, which is operated by the Korea Foundation. It was attended by government officials and experts of the two countries, including representatives from the Seoul National University Hospital, the Seoul Medical Center, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health and the Republican Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital of Kyrgyzstan. The participants shared the two countries’ experiences in policy-making to control parasitic infections, discussed recent research, and talked about their chronic disease management experiences. They also proposed ways of cooperation between the two countries, including a policy to improve primary care practices in Kyrgyzstan.

From the Korean side, Seoul National University professors Cho Be-long and Choi Min-ho spoke about the current status of and development plans for Korea’s management of non-communicable diseases (NCD) as well as Korea’s experience in controlling parasitic diseases. They also introduced a training program for medical professionals under the Dr. Lee Jong-wook Fellowship. Meanwhile, the Kyrgyz participants spoke about the current status of health and medical care systems developed by the Kyrgyz government; management, prevention and treatment of parasitic diseases; and the current status of heart and cardiovascular diseases.