Azerbaijan Health
Dentist's office, Baku
Courtesy Oleg Litvin, Azerbaijan International
Azerbaijan's health care system was one of the least
effective in the Soviet republics, and it deteriorated further
after independence. On the eve of the breakup of the Soviet Union
in 1991, the number of physicians per 1,000 people in Azerbaijan
was about four, the number of hospital beds about ten, and the
number of pharmacists about seven--all figures below average for
the Soviet Union as a whole (see
table 2, Appendix). According to
reports, in the late 1980s some 736 hospitals and clinics were
operating in Azerbaijan, but according to Soviet data some of
those were rudimentary facilities with little equipment. Medical
facilities also include several dozen sanitoriums and special
children's health facilities. The leading medical schools in
Azerbaijan are the Azerbaijan Medical Institute in Baku, which
trains doctors and pharmacists, and the Institute for Advanced
Training for Physicians. Several research institutes also conduct
medical studies.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan's declining
economy made it impossible for the Azerbaijani government to
provide full support of the health infrastructure. Shortages of
medicines and equipment have occurred, and some rural clinics
have closed. In 1993 a Western report evaluated Azerbaijan's
sanitation, pharmacies, medical system, medical industry, and
medical research and development as below average, relative to
similar services in the other former Soviet republics.
In 1987 the leading causes of death in order of occurrence
were cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory infection, and
accidents. The official 1991 infant mortality rate--twenty-five
per 1,000 population--was by far the highest among the
Transcaucasian nations. International experts estimated an even
higher rate, however, if the standard international definition of
infant mortality is used.
Data as of March 1994
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