Celebrating Medical and Pharmaceutical Workers' Day together is being considered in Uzbekistan

The issue of jointly celebrating Medical and Pharmaceutical Workers' Day is being considered in Uzbekistan

On October 20, the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis adopted in the second reading a draft law providing for the establishment of Medical and Pharmaceutical Workers' Day and sent it to the Senate.

This draft law was developed by the Ministry of Health in order to ensure the execution of instructions issued during the meeting of the President of Uzbekistan with medical and pharmaceutical workers.

The document proposes to introduce an amendment to the Law "On the Establishment of Medical Workers' Day of the Republic of Uzbekistan". According to it, the words "medical workers" in the text of the law are replaced with the words "medical and pharmaceutical workers". Also, the second Sunday of November is established as Medical and Pharmaceutical Workers' Day of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

According to Bakhtiyor Ortikov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Labor, Health Protection and Social Issues, who presented the draft law in the chamber, the document is aimed at enhancing the status of pharmaceutical workers in society and appropriately appreciating the work of specialists providing high-quality pharmaceutical services to the population.

He emphasized that today more than 50 thousand pharmaceutical specialists work in Uzbekistan. Furthermore, 504 pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises, 478 distributor organizations, and over 14 thousand pharmacies are operating.

The Deputy Chairman of the Committee noted that the current law establishes only Medical Workers' Day, while pharmaceutical workers are not mentioned separately. According to him, the proposed amendments ensure harmony with the concepts used in the laws "On Protection of Public Health" and "On Medicines and Pharmaceutical Activity".

The adoption of the draft law does not require additional funds from the state budget.

During the discussion, Zafar Khudoyberdiyev, a member of the Legislative Chamber's Committee on Democratic Institutions and Civil Society Development, inquired about the reasons for combining Pharmaceutical Workers' Day with Medical Workers' Day.

He recalled that the explanatory note mentions that foreign experience was studied and that in some countries Pharmaceutical Workers' Day is celebrated separately. Noting that in international practice September 25 is celebrated as Pharmacists' Day, the deputy asked why the possibility of establishing a separate holiday in Uzbekistan as well was not considered.

In response to this, Bakhtiyor Ortikov stated that the concepts of medical and pharmaceutical workers are used together in the current legislation. For this reason, he explained that the draft proposes establishing a common holiday for both categories of employees.

Speaker of the Legislative Chamber Nuriddin Ismoilov also commented on the matter, emphasizing that medicine and pharmacy are closely related, complementary fields. In his opinion, establishing a common holiday for them is not incorrect in itself. However, the deputy's question regarding international experience and the issue of establishing a separate Pharmaceutical Workers' Day is appropriate.

The Speaker stated that if the drafters of the law rely on international experience, they must also provide a clear answer as to why a different approach was chosen in Uzbekistan.

After being approved in the first reading, the draft law was prepared for the second reading. During the discussion, it was explained that legal-technical amendments were made to the title of the document.

Deputies reviewed the articles of the draft law and approved its adoption in the second reading. Then, the decision to send the document to the Senate was also put to a vote and adopted.

As a reminder, in November 2025, during his visit to the Tashkent State Medical University, Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed renaming Medical Workers' Day to Medical and Pharmaceutical Workers' Day.

The President emphasized that medicine and pharmacy are closely linked fields and put forward the initiative to celebrate this holiday together.