increased, and a network of self-financing medical establishments has emerged, as well as
pharmacies and clinics. Furthermore, new mechanisms are being sought for health care financing
reform, including through private insurance. While state funds continue to provide well over
80% of all health financing, the portion of health care financed by private means increased from
1,5% in 1990 to 5,8% in 1995, while the share of the total national budget devoted to health
increased from 8,6% to 10.5% in 1994, largely for salaries.
In the education sector, despite limited budgets, the government is carrying out an ambitious
program to restructure the educational system, to train more teachers, to produce more text
books, and to overcome the shortage of financing, by shifting part of educational financing away
from the state budget to enterprises and students.
8. Women and Gender Trends
No specific section is devoted to women and gender considerations.
9. Environmental Trends
Agriculture in Uzbekistan relics heavily on irrigated lands. There are 4.2 million hectares of
irrigated lands, compared with 27 million hectares of irrigated lands. Recent analyses indicate
that the quantity of irrigated lands suffering from low and medium levels of salinity has
increased noticeably. In addition, drainage waters which flow into the Upper Amudarya River,
when combined with the salination of the soil in the upper layers, hamper agricultural production
in the Aral Sea region. Due to poor water resources management, and the absence of appropriate
user fees, water consumption has tended to be high and inefficient. A result of this has been the
progressive increase in the proportion of saline land to about 53% and the fall in the level of the
Aral Sea.
The development of industrial society, a larger population, and greater affluence, have
intensified pressure on the environment. Households now use far more energy from non-
renewable resources in the form of electricity, gas, petroleum and other fuels. Use of these
resources has lowered the air quality. Household garbage today contains far more non-
biodegradable materials than in the past, and reusable waste is seldom recycled or returned to the
soil. A higher population density, centralized water and sewage systems, and thermal power and
gas have gradually turned houses into sources of environmental pollution. Counteracting the
contamination of the environment requires tremendous financial resources.
10. Housing and Human Settlements
In Uzbekistan, 90% of the estimated 4.7 million families, which make up the population of 22.5
million, own their own apartments or houses, while 7% live in housing owned by construction
cooperatives or enterprises, 2% rent privately and 1% live in hostels. After the beginning of the
transition period in 1991 - 93, over 1.2 million dwellings were privatized.
Population growth, at 2.3% per annum is quite high in Uzbekistan, and the Government has
pursued a range of policies to maintain a rate of housing construction that will meet the needs of
the increasing population. The Report considers that the Government has been very successful
compared to most other governments of countries in transition. Housing construction has more
than kept pace with population growth, especially in the rural areas, due largely to policies which
provide plots of land and building materials to citizens at subsidized rates. However, in the urban
areas, shortage of housing and space is becoming a problem. Furthermore, the transition period