The UNICEF Early Children Development and Early Intervention Program in Kazakhstan

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with the leadership of the health and early childhood development programs of UNICEF (Kazakhstan), initiated training on the principles of the Guidelines for Monitoring Early Development (GMCD) and early intervention for pediatric specialists from all regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the participation of international experts. The staff of the School of Pediatrics, Head of the Department of Propaedeutics of Childhood Diseases Sagatbayeva N.A. and Professor of the Department of Outpatient Pediatrics Nurgalieva Zh.Zh., were involved in the training, with the awarding of certificates of international trainers on RMRR and early intervention programs. The GMCD certification courses were successfully conducted at the PHC Center in Astana on 26.01-31.01.2026, where N.A. Sagatbayeva and Zh.Zh. Nurgalieva participated as international trainers. The first participants of the GNCD training were PHC specialists from Astana — nursing home nurses, pediatricians, gps. Training on the conceptual foundations and skills of early intervention (EI), conducted by international experts from Eurlyaid (European Association on Early childhood intervention) 09.02-13.02.2026 The training programs were very intense and exciting. All participants showed keen interest and engagement. In January 2026, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted the unified Concept «Children of Kazakhstan» for 2026-2030. The issues discussed during the training sessions were included in the Concept. It is planned to widely implement the RMRR and improve the RV in Kazakhstan as an interdepartmental program to improve the health and harmonious development of the child population.