Outbreak of viral hepatitis A in Semipalatinsk, 60 hospitalised Kazakhstan today

SEMIPALATINSK. An outbreak of viral hepatitis A has been registered in Semipalatinsk, Farida Kabdullina, chief of department of the isolation hospital for children, told Kazakhstan Today correspondent.

According to her, currently 60 residents of Semipalatinsk have been hospitalised. 45 of them are adults aged 25 - 35 and 10 children of pre-school and school age. "There are regular outbreaks of this viral infection every 5 - 7 years, The hepatitis cases will be growing in the nearest two years," - she explained.

"Now there are patients with aftereffects, the adults are... more

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. ~ Maria Robinson

In the popular movie, Borat, Kazakhstan comes in for pretty shabby treatment. A more evenhanded look at Kazakhstan can be found in the UNESCO Policy Brief on Early Childhood (“Ensuring Equitable Access to Preschool Education: Kazakhstan’s Experience”; July-August 2005).

The paper points out that early childhood education has undergone significant ups and downs in the recent past. Before the fall of the Soviet empire, all children in Kazakhstan, regardless of their regional and social backgrounds, had universal access to state preschool services. But after the Soviet... more

Pinch of salt, hard work help Kazakhstan end iodine deficit - Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times Saturday, December 16, 2006

(12-16) 04:00 PST Astana, Kazakhstan -- Valentina Sivryukova knew her public service messages were hitting the mark when she heard how one Kazakhstani schoolboy called another stupid. "What are you," he sneered, "iodine-deficient or something?"

Sivryukova, president of the national confederation of Kazakhstani charities, was delighted. It meant the years of trying to raise public awareness that iodized salt prevents brain damage in infants were not spent in vain. If the campaign bore fruit, Kazakhstan's national IQ would be safeguarded.... more

I read this article this morning from Gauhar Abdygaliyeva and found it an interesting read. With BORAT in the news so much - I thought comments from someone who knows and loves Kazakhstan should be in order......

My 'glorious nation of Kazakhstan'

By GAUHAR ABDYGALIYEVA

I'm a Muslim Kazakh woman who arrived in the United States two months ago to work on my master's in public administration. Almost every time I meet people and tell them where I come from, they ask me about the "Kazakh journalist" Borat, "the sixth most famous man" in Kazakhstan. I answer that Borat is a satirical fictional character who has nothing in common with... more

The movie BORAT has hit the local movie theatres but has also “hit” the adoptive community by storm. And it is not so much the movie but the ignorance of the people having interviews about the movie or speaking about adoption from Kazakhstan.

An article in the Boston Herald has been circulating the various adoption boards: http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=165605 in support of adoption from Kazakhstan.

While... more

A picture of a machine that we have NO IDEA what it is – this machine was at the baby house and they would bring the children to it for breathing treatments of some sort – it glowed!

Kazakhstan has been in the news lately because of the Borat movie – but the news that concerns me greatly is the HIV scandal in the Shymkent Region, which is one city over from Taraz, where our son Logan was born. I just read a report that at least one child adopted from the region lives in the USA. Although I know... more