Kazakhstan has pledged more than 200 billion tenge ($478 million) in this year’s budget to increase doctors’ salaries, total.kz reported, citing Health Minister Aleksey Tsoi.

By 2023, doctors will be paid on two and a half times more than the average salary in Kazakhstan, Tsoi said.

The government pledged 222 billion tenge in 202, 362 billion tenge in 2022, and 557 billion tenge in 2023 to increase the pay of 247,000 medical workers, total.kz cited Tsoi as saying.

A doctor’s average salary will be 320,000 this year, and increase to 561,000 tenge in 2023,  Tsoi said at a meeting of the Ministry of Health’s board. The average salary of medical workers in 2021 will be 173,000 tenge, with an increase to 210,000 tenge in 2023, he said.

The government is working to raise the pay of non-medical workers within healthcare organisations from next year, Tsoi said.