Kazak kuresi, togyzkumalak and asyk atu are especially popular among Kazakhstani schoolchildren — Dauren Abayev

Government considered the development of mass sports and the formation of a healthy lifestyle. So at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, the Minister of Culture and Sports Dauren Abayev, Minister of Healthcare Azhar Giniyat, as well as akims of the regions made presentations.

Abayev reported on how mass sports are developing in Kazakhstan.

The Minister of Culture and Sports noted that the key goal in the work of the state apparatus is to increase the coverage of citizens who are systematically involved in physical culture and sports. As part of its implementation, the Ministry, together with akimats and other interested state bodies, is taking the following measures.

First. An analysis of the need for sports infrastructure was carried out.

“Today, the system of regional standards prescribes the presence of 80 square meters of a sports hall for 1 thousand people. However, the real situation in the regions does not meet this standard. The total need for sports halls in settlements is over one and a half million square meters, the actual availability is 935 thousand square meters. Thus, the shortage of sports facilities is 39% or 574 thousand square meters,” he said.

The largest deficit was recorded in the Turkistan and Almaty regions, as well as the cities of Nur-Sultan and Shymkent. The most favorable situation is observed in Pavlodar, Karaganda and West Kazakhstan regions. However, even in these regions we are talking about infrastructure deficit, albeit not so high. In general, there are more than 42 thousand sports facilities in the republic, of which more than 23 thousand units are in rural areas.

To solve the problem of shortage of sports infrastructure, a project was implemented to build 100 sports and recreation complexes.

“Sports and recreation complexes have indeed improved the situation in terms of the accessibility of sports facilities. However, we must admit that these are expensive projects that require large funds for maintenance. Some of them were built in unpromising settlements, from where there is an outflow of residents. In this regard, some complexes do not work at full capacity. The structures themselves include non-purpose areas — these are atriums, huge corridor spaces. We propose to change approaches,” said Abayev.

One of the proposed solutions is the construction of prefabricated and low-cost sports modules. So, for example, the Akimat of the North Kazakhstan region has already begun to apply this experience to provide rural settlements with sports infrastructure. It is much cheaper, more functional and faster.

In addition, a special plan for the development of sports infrastructure until 2025 has been submitted to the Government. Within the framework of the document, it is planned to implement 140 projects. Of these, 113 are the construction of new facilities, 21 are the reconstruction of existing ones and 6 retrofit projects.

Second. State sports order. This is one of the most important tools for improving the social well-being of citizens.

Since May 1, 2021, a mechanism for per capita financing of sports sections has been introduced. As a result, more than 217,000 children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 attend sports clubs free of charge. However, the mechanism itself needs serious improvement.

“If we do not resolve this issue in a timely manner, then there is a risk of discrediting the direct instructions of the President of the country, the growth of social discontent and tension. First of all, there is a catastrophic lack of financial resources. In a number of regions, the money allocated for the whole year was spent in one quarter. There are big questions about the functioning of the artsport.kz portal itself. Abuses are allowed, both on the part of local executive bodies and service providers,” added Dauren Abayev.

In this regard, the Ministry of Culture and Sports proposes:

1) It is necessary to increase the terms for consideration of suppliers' applications from 5 to 10 business days. Up to 100 applications are received per day by akimat employees: high workload affects the quality of their consideration.

2) We propose to consider the possibility of setting limits on one supplier by sports, the number of groups involved and the number of children trained, based on the capacity of the premises and the number of coaches.

3) It is important to consolidate the authority of the operator to control and monitor suppliers for the implementation of sports orders. We are talking about controlling the real number of students, the compliance of the premises, the availability of inventory and equipment for children, the occupancy of groups, etc.

4) A thorough revision of the artsport.edu.kz platform is required.

“First of all, it needs to be integrated with government databases. It is also necessary to test the portal for compliance with the information security requirements of the National Security Committee. The existing gaps in the operation of the system allow the financing of dead souls, the overestimation of visitation numbers, the duplication of providers and funding, the enrollment of children in sections and circles by providers themselves. It is not uncommon for the same trainer to be found in different vendor applications. And the same objects are held according to the creative and sports order. The facts of registration of children who are students of sports schools have been established. By and large, due to such failures in the operation of the portal, bona fide providers and the main recipients of services — children suffer,” explained the minister.

5) Another important point is the establishment of an annual limit of local budget expenditures on per capita financing in the amount of 10% of the total expenditure on sports.

At lower costs, the mechanism will work for a maximum of six months, and the per capita financing mechanism, without bringing real benefits, will be discredited in the eyes of the population.

“Hundreds of thousands of children got the opportunity to spend quality time. In the next ten years, we will see a huge result. Improving the mechanism is a problem to be solved,” he added.

Third. Since 2021, a mandatory component of national sports has been introduced in physical education classes at all levels of education. At present, sports such as Kazakh kuresi, togyzkumalak and asyk atu are especially popular among students. At the end of 2021, the increase was 57 thousand people. In general, about 500 thousand people are involved in national sports throughout the country.

Fourth. Together with the Ministry of Education and Science, sports leagues are held annually among schoolchildren and students. In accordance with the regulations, the League is held in four stages.

Competitions of national school leagues are held in 10 sports. These are basketball, volleyball, handball, football, futsal, togyzkumalak, table tennis, 3x3 basketball, asyk atu-bes asyk, track and field cross. More than 1.5 million students take part in these competitions. The final stage will be held from May to July of this year. This year, the next complex sports events will be held as the seventh National Games and the fourth Youth Rural Games.

“First of all, it has a colossal ideological effect. They contribute to the development of the social capital of schoolchildren, the expansion of contacts outside the school, village, district, develop discipline, responsibility, strengthen the sense of unity and pride in the small homeland. It is also one of the most effective tools in recruiting talented athletes,” said Dauren Abayev.

Fifth. All 3.5 thousand key settlements will be provided with full-time sports instructors until 2025. At the end of 2021, the number of instructors in rural areas increased from 1232 to 3065 people.

Sixth. Measures have been taken to provide social support to industry workers.

Since 2020, the wages of employees of specialized schools and colleges have been increased by 25% annually. In 2023, this figure will be 100%.

An additional payment was introduced for physical education teachers in the amount of 100% of the base official salary for conducting extracurricular sports activities. This measure covers 26,000 physical education teachers across the country.

In turn, the head of the Ministry of Health Azhar Giniyat spoke about the measures being taken to promote a healthy lifestyle among the population of the republic.

So, according to Giniyat, the main aspects of a healthy lifestyle are the prevention of behavioral risk factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, increasing physical activity and healthy eating.

“Tobacco smoking among the adult population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to a WHO study, among people over 15 years of age is 21.5%, while among men smoke more than 38%, women — 6.4%. The average age of smoking initiation is 17-18 years. According to the results of studies of the behavior of schoolchildren at the age of 15, 10% of boys smoke, and 6% of girls. Electronic cigarettes are even more popular among teenagers. Thus, at the age of 15, consumers of heating tobacco among boys — 14% and girls — 6%,” said the Minister of Healthcare.

According to the same study, the level of alcohol consumption for men is 25 liters per year, for women — about 9 liters. Unfortunately, according to this indicator, Kazakhstan belongs to countries with a high level of consumption of alcoholic beverages. Often, the mortality rates of the population from external causes, such as: traffic accidents, injuries, violent death, poisoning, drowning, etc., are the result of the use of alcoholic beverages.

The next key indicator of a healthy lifestyle is physical activity, which averages 34%. The dynamics shows a slight positive trend since 2019 by 4%.

With regard to the dietary habits of the population, there is a high level of salt intake, which is equivalent to 18 g. per day at the WHO recommended rate of 5 grams per day. According to the VI National Lifestyle Study, the consumption of vegetables and fruits is 200-230 grams per day, while the WHO recommended norm is 400-500 grams. Kazakhstan is in 9th place among 21 countries in Central Asia and Europe with the most unhealthy diet.

Thus, in the period from 2013 to 2018, there was an increase in the production of CCH (sugar-containing drinks) by 25% and, as a result, an increase in the consumption of CCH by 13%. According to the Obesity Surveillance among children, about 16.7% of children aged 6-9 years use SSN daily.

The growing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases in Kazakhstan contributes to an increase in the burden on both the healthcare system and the country's economy as a whole. NCDs are responsible for about 84% of all deaths in Kazakhstan. According to the latest study, the probability of premature death from the four major NCD groups is 27%, with a much higher probability for men (37%) than for women (19%).

According to WHO estimates (2017), about 300 billion tenge was spent on the treatment of 4 main groups of NCDs. The losses for the economy associated with a decrease in labor productivity exceed the state health care costs by 6.5 times and amount to 2 trillion tenge per year. In general, the current damage caused by NCDs to the economy of Kazakhstan is more than 2.3 trillion tenge per year, which is equivalent to 4.5% of the country's annual GDP.

The prevalence of overweight among children aged 6-9 years is 20.6% (among boys - 23.6%, girls - 17.6%), including 6.6% of children suffering from obesity. There is an increase in the incidence of diabetes by 62%, so if in 2015 this figure was 173 per 100 thousand of the population, then in 2021 this figure was 280 per 100 thousand of the population.

Today, the healthy lifestyle service at the republican level is represented by the National Center for Public Health.

At the regional level, the health departments of regions and cities of republican significance organize a competition for the purchase of public services within the framework of targeted current transfers. From 2014 to 2016, state centers for the formation of a healthy lifestyle were abolished and transferred to a competitive environment. Private HLS Centers annually participate in these competitions on a general basis. But in some regions, organizations that do not have sufficient experience and qualified specialists receive state orders, but by dumping prices, which ultimately affects the quality of services provided. So, according to the results of 2021, competitions were held in 14 regions of the republic. In the West Kazakhstan region and in the cities of Shymkent and Nur-Sultan, funding for this budget program has been withdrawn.

At the same time, 473 healthy lifestyle cabinets function at PHC organizations.

147 million tenge was allocated from the republican budget to finance activities to promote healthy lifestyles within the framework of the state assignment to the National Center for Public Health from the republican budget this year. At the same time, during the coronavirus pandemic, the budget for healthy lifestyle promotion was reduced by 4 times compared to 2019 and amounts to 512 million tenge. This led to a decrease in public awareness of healthy lifestyle issues from 67% in 2018 to 15% in 2021.

“Given the existing problems and in order to raise public awareness of healthy lifestyle skills, prevention of non-communicable diseases, at the end of last year, the national project “Healthy Nation” was approved, in which a separate direction was adopted to increase the proportion of the population leading a healthy lifestyle and developing mass sports, within which information and explanatory work is being carried out among the population on the prevention of major non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, oncology, chronic respiratory diseases and others, as well as measures to reduce the consumption of alcohol, tobacco products with a gradual increase in the excise tax on tobacco products,” said Giniyat.

Measures are also envisaged to ensure the availability of youth health centers for the provision of mental and reproductive health services, for these purposes, 166 youth centers are provided with about 1.7 billion tenge this year. In order to inform the population about the nutritional value and determine the content of nutrients that are critical for health, the development of recommendations for the color marking of food products has begun.

To reduce non-communicable diseases, it is planned to introduce excise taxes on sugar-containing drinks, to prevent injuries, training and outreach will continue, to prevent scoliosis, myopia among children, the development of programs “Healthy Posture”, “Healthy Vision”, to promote healthy and rational nutrition is planned development of a network of enterprises "Healthy canteens", "Healthy cafeterias", "Healthy bistro", "Healthy shops".

 

Along with this, it is planned to conduct research on the epidemiological surveillance of childhood obesity, the lifestyle of schoolchildren that affect their physical and mental health, the use of psychoactive substances among young people and a global survey of children aged 13-15 years and adults on the consumption of tobacco products and others events.

“As a result of the measures taken, by 2025 it is expected that the proportion of citizens leading a healthy lifestyle will increase from 19% to 45%, the prevalence of tobacco smoking among the population over 15 years old will decrease from 21.5% to 19%, and the incidence of obesity among children will decrease from 95.7%. % to 90% per 100,000 population,” the head of the Ministry of Health said in conclusion.

Akim of the Mangystau region Nurlan Nogayev made a report on the topic.

“In 2021, 274,979 people, or 37.4% of the population of the region, are covered by physical culture and sports, of which 144,107 people are engaged in rural areas. Compared to 2020, this figure has increased by 22 thousand people,” said the head of the Mangystau region.

According to the akimat of the region, such growth is ensured through the implementation of social projects and state sports orders, carried out in order to develop mass sports, open new sports facilities in the region. In particular, in 2021, 48 sports infrastructure facilities were put into operation in the region for a total cost of 2.3 billion tenge. Including 46 facilities were built at the expense of private investment in the amount of 1.6 billion tenge.

“I will especially note the contribution of individual entrepreneurs to the development of the sports industry in the region. As a result, the number of sports facilities in the region has increased from 775 to 823, of which 345 are in rural areas. The dynamic development of the sports infrastructure made it possible last year to hold 822 sports events at the international, republican and regional levels. 123,300 residents of the region and guests of the city took part in these events,” the head of the region said.

In accordance with the instruction of the Head of State, within the framework of per capita financing, 676 million tenge was allocated to 70 individual entrepreneurs in 24 sports from 2021 to 2022, a state order was placed for 13,156 children involved in various sports. Of these, 40% are children from rural areas.

According to Nogayev, as part of the development of mass sports and the involvement of neighborhood children in sports through the support of social projects, a project for the development of neighborhood sports was launched in the region, about 14 thousand children trained at 64 sports grounds.

“Together with the Nike Run Club Aktau, mass races are being held. The club currently has about 2,000 members. Of these, about 500 people are engaged without a break. Trainings are held in the open areas of the Primorye Territory, the Botanical Garden, the Caspian Stadium, etc.,’’ Nurlan Nogayev said.

The akim also reported that in the center "Development of Mass Sports" in Aktau, pensioners get the opportunity to engage in daily training and sports events free of charge. This year, the regional akimat plans to hold 1,500 sporting events. The goal of the akimat is to bring the number of people involved in sports to 305,620 people, that is, 41.3%, with a coverage of 152,000 people. Since the beginning of the year, 215 sports events have been held, at which more than 39 thousand people have been mobilized

“In order to develop mass sports until 2025, it is planned to build 100 sports grounds, 10 gyms and 4 sports complexes in the region, as a result of which the population will go in for sports. We will take appropriate measures to bring it up to 50%,” Nurlan Nogayev summed up.

The head of the region Kumar Aksakalov reported on the situation in the North Kazakhstan region.

“Today, more than 186 thousand people or 34.5% of the population are systematically involved in sports in the North Kazakhstan region. There are 2,933 sports facilities, 27 youth sports schools, a school of higher sportsmanship, an Olympic reserve training center, a boarding school, a college and yard clubs,” Akim Kumar Aksakalov said.

In order to create the necessary conditions for the development of mass and children's sports, the akimat took as a basis the course towards the creation of sports clusters in the districts of the region. These clusters include sports and recreation complexes, stadiums, indoor hockey courts or a swimming pool. So, for example, in the city of Bulaev, Magzhan Zhumabayev district, in 2018, a sports and recreation complex was built in the amount of 109.6 million tenge. In 2019, the stadium underwent a major overhaul. In 2021, an indoor hockey court worth 84.3 million tenge was built nearby. Akim of North Kazakhstan region also said that a similar complex was built in the area named after Gabit Musrepov, which includes a sports and recreation complex, an indoor hockey court, a stadium and a swimming pool.

“In the city of Taiynsha, Taiynshy district, a sports and recreation center worth 485 million tenge was opened in 2020. At the moment, the construction of a hockey court worth 186.7 million tenge is underway. It is planned to build a swimming pool and reconstruct a stadium on the territory of this cluster,” the head of the region said during the meeting.

Also in Timiryazevo village, Timiryazev district, an indoor hockey court worth 91.3 million tenge was built, and in May this year it is planned to open a sports and recreation complex worth 502.8 million tenge.

According to the akim of the North Kazakhstan region, the potential of such a cluster allows more than 1,000 people to engage in various sports every day and develop mass sports such as ice hockey and bandy, speed skating, short track, football, volleyball, basketball, various types of wrestling , boxing, athletics, polyathlon, swimming and street workout.

“These complexes are a favorite place for active recreation of the population, in addition to the listed types, there is an opportunity to engage in fitness, and in winter, mass skating is practiced in indoor courts. Also, regional sports days will be held on the territory of the clusters,” said Kumar Aksakalov.

In addition, the akimats of the region, in order to increase the coverage of the population with sports, in large settlements of the region, cultural centers were redesigned into cultural and recreational centers, which were equipped with exercise equipment and sports equipment.

“Thanks to this, the villagers can play tennis, various intellectual board games of chess, checkers, togyzkumalak, and also do fitness in their free time. There are plans to create similar clusters in all districts of the region,” summed up the akim of the North Kazakhstan region Kumar Aksakalov.

Akim of the Aktobe region Ondasyn Urazalin said that compared to last year, the proportion of those involved in sports increased by 34.6%. From year to year, the number of sports facilities put into operation is increasing. Last year, 2.1 billion tenge was allocated from the budget, as a result of which 60 new facilities were put into operation.

This year, in the plans of the Akimat of Aktobe region, it is planned to complete the construction of 91 new sports facilities, including the Table Tennis Center, the Center for people with disabilities, the Football Academy in Aktobe, 5 sports and recreation and 14 hangar-type complexes in the districts, etc. Urazalin also reported on the upcoming reconstruction of the Dolphin swimming pool and the Olympic football reserve school for a total of 622 million tenge.

“Thanks to the easing of quarantine restrictions, more than 900 mass sports events were held last year, including the Asian championship in togyzkumalak, 3 international, 12 republican, 37 regional tournaments, covering more than 53,000 residents,” Aktobe region akim reported.

This year, according to the plans of the akimat of the region, the world championship in togyzkumalak, an international chess tournament for the V. Dvorkovich Cup, 30 republican tournaments, a festival of national sports, etc. will be held.

According to the forecasts of the akimat of the region, as a result of the work carried out, about 38% of the population of the region will be covered by physical culture and sports.

In addition, the head of the Aktobe region reported on the implementation of the state sports order. So, in 2022, 2.1 billion tenge was allocated from the budget to provide more than 21 thousand children with free circles. Of these, 535 million tenge was allocated to the sports sector for practicing 18 sports, covering 8,400 children.

According to the akim, to cover the planned 12 thousand children, an additional 1.8 billion tenge is needed from the budget, and the akimat is working with the relevant central state bodies on this issue.

“Today there are about 180 thousand children aged 4 to 17 in the region. Of these, about 110 thousand are covered by various sports sections, circles,” Urazalin summed up.

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