The retraining program is developed based on the Catalogue of Competences of Health Managers under the technical support of the Swiss funded project Health Facilities Autonomy. The program composes of 15 modules covering all elements of the health facility management as organizational, human resources, finance, policy and analytical issues.

Strong health managers are the main drivers of the health system reforms. "The effective healthcare system needs professional health managers who has good vision towards achieving objectives and goals, as well as interested in continuous self-improvement," said Minister Gulnara Baatyrova.

"Switzerland is proud of its assistance to Kyrgyzstan in health care over many years. Highly professional managers are able to make a tangible contribution to improving the work of a healthcare organization and the quality of providing medical services to the population", said Ambassador Olivier Bangerter.

The training took place on the basis of the Kyrgyz State Medical Institute for Retraining and Continuous Education with the support of the Center for Health System Development and Medical Technologies.

The forum aims to inform key medical decision makers about current challenges in the field of human resources for health care, to discuss possible solutions, and to strengthen the role of professional associations in the healthcare system.

The Forum will be attended by representatives of the parliament, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Embassy of Switzerland, medical professional public organisations, and doctors; heads of National Professional Associations from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will be guests of honour.

The forum will establish regional cooperation with national professional medical associations in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The event is organized in close cooperation with the Swiss funded Medical Education Reforms project in the Kyrgyz Republic. The third phase of the project further develops medical education reforms for improving the capacity and quality of health care training. This includes the reinforcement of Professional Medical Associations and their role in medical education as well as representing their members, health professionals in Kyrgyzstan.