Kazakh media reports say Kazakhstan plans to send 100 portable ventilators of its own production to Tajikistan as a humanitarian aid.

Deputy Minister of Health, Ms. Lyudmila Byuribekova, has confirmed this information at a press conference at the Central Communications Center, according to liter.kz.     

Earlier, journalist Erkanat Kopzharuly had noted that the Government of Kazakhstan will allocate 63.2 million tenge (equivalent to 153,000 U.S. dollars) for purchase of 100 ventilators for Tajikistan.  Social network users outraged, noting that “the current situation in Kazakhstan is difficult and the republic needs assistance itself.”   

Ms. Lyudmila Byuribekova noted at the press conference that it's about portable ventilators for ambulances produced in the Akmola oblast and they will be delivered to Tajikistan by the end of the year, according to tengrinews. 

A ventilator is a machine that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently.  Modern ventilators are computerized microprocessor-controlled machines, but patients can also be ventilated with a simple, hand-operated bag valve mask.  Ventilators are chiefly used in intensive-care medicine, home care, and emergency medicine (as standalone units) and in anesthesiology (as a component of an anesthesia machine).