Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the opening of hospital in Gobustan settlement, Garadagh district

A wonderful event is taking place in the Gobustan settlement of Garadagh district today. It is a very significant day. Together we celebrate the opening of a beautiful new hospital. I sincerely congratulate you on this occasion.

It is a beautiful building with excellent conditions and modern equipment. The building also covers a very large area, and I am sure that patients will be provided with the highest level of medical service. On the way here, at the entrance, I was shown photos of the old hospital. You, the doctors working here, will know perfectly well that the previous hospital was very unsightly. It was in deplorable condition. This is natural because the hospital started to operate in the early 1950s and stayed without renovation for a long time. I remember visiting Gobustan several years ago and the chief doctor of the hospital asking me to build a new hospital here. I immediately sign an order, allocated funds, and today we are taking part in the opening of this beautiful hospital together. I also recall that several requests were made during that trip. Those included the construction of a culture center, a school, a clinic and a hospital, and all of them have been granted. In other words, the requests of settlement and district residents have been executed at the highest level. First of all, this beautiful hospital reflects our policy today. It demonstrates that public health is one of the most important issues for us. On the other hand, it shows that every proposal from the ground, from our citizens is examined and, as far as our opportunities permit, is fulfilled. I believe that this direct communication is one of the important factors underlying our success. And my regular meetings with our citizens, my visits to the districts – I visited 24 districts last year alone, the steps taken to resolve the problems of Baku settlements and the positive approach to proposals from the ground factor into our successful development. If this question had not been raised back then, this hospital would not have been built. Therefore, I always urge people to report on issues of concern for them, on issues that are important for us to resolve.

On the example of the Gobustan hospital, we see the dynamic steps of our developing country. Azerbaijan today is one of the countries that stand out on a global scale. Economic, social and all other issues are being successfully addressed here. Among social issues, of course, a special place is occupied by the development of the healthcare system. The people of Azerbaijan are at the center of our policy, and people’s health is of particular importance for us. We are trying and will continue to try to take all necessary measures in this area. I should also note that in the past 15 years alone, more than 600 hospitals and medical institutions have been either built or overhauled in our country. All or the absolute majority of our cities have modern hospitals. Construction work is still ongoing in several cities. In the near future, there will not be a single city left in Azerbaijan without a modern medical center.

You are well aware that more than 5 million people undergo medical examination every year. This is our initiative, and such an initiative is carried out only in a handful of countries around the world. This has only one goal – if people have health problems, they should promptly identify them and receive qualified treatment. Thanks to this program, thousands of people have already received treatment at the required level.

Diagnosis and treatment go hand-in-hand. In this hospital, This hospital has diagnostic and out-patient departments, an ambulance station, surgical facilities, and a maternity unit. I was informed that there were serious problems in this area and that there was no maternity unit in this region. You are also well aware that this hospital will serve adjacent settlements. Tens of thousands of people will take advantage of these opportunities. Of course, the establishment of a dialysis unit in this hospital is of particular importance because, according to the information available to me, there are kidney patients here who had to travel to Baku on a regular basis to receive dialysis. This involves costs, anxiety and suffering. Therefore, the establishment of a dialysis unit here will be great support for these people. They will be able to restore their health here.

We are doing all this work for the people of Azerbaijan to live even better and for their concerns to be addressed. Of course, to achieve this we need a strong economy, and we are building it. The results of last year – a few days ago I reported this to the people – are very reassuring. This shows that we are on the right track, we are successfully developing, and our country addressed all the necessary issues at its own expense, at the expense of its internal capabilities – social, economic, infrastructure and other issues. I am sure that we will maintain this positive momentum in the coming years, including, of course, 2019, our country will develop successfully and all issues will be resolved.

Let me congratulate you on this wonderful event again and wish the doctors every success. Excellent jobs have been created for doctors so that you can serve patients well. Thank you.