By Aisha Aslanbekova (10/22/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

In hospitals, patients live in dreadful conditions and are poorly fed, not to mention of being properly taken care of. The rooms in hospitals are overcrowded, holding up to 10-15 patients in a room. Lack of hospital staff forces a single nurse to supervise 10-15 people.

By Marat Yermukanov (10/22/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The two-day Civic Forum clearly attested to the efforts of the State to reshape its approach to non-government organizations, which are gaining in political importance. According to official figures, 200,000 people are involved in the non-government sector. Government statistics put the number of NGOs operating in Kazakhstan at 4,500.

By Gulnara Ismailova (10/8/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Vilayat Guliyev was the first among official representatives who at the beginning of October mentioned such a development of the situation in Brussels at a session of the Council of cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan. But Guliyev only informed that within the next few days the ruling party would put forward a unified candidate in the elections, but left without mentioning which of the candidates it would be.

This announcement made it clear that the forthcoming presidential elections will result in a change of authority, at least as far as the personality is concerned.