Uzbekistan: Tashkent Sees Sutures as the Solution to Corruption

Uzbek authorities are attempting to crack down on corruption in the health-care sector. Tashkent's remedy is an order for all medical personnel to literally sew the pockets of their hospital and clinic garb shut.

Doctors and nurses are calling the order, issued by the Ministry of Health, an "absurd initiative." They note that medical personnel routinely carry thermometers, stethoscopes, keys and other small items in their pockets for work.

An employee at a Tashkent clinic suggested that the campaign was misguided, saying it would not discourage bribe-taking, and would merely alienate doctors and nurses.

"We might be glad to take [a bribe] but no one ever gives us one," the employee was quoted as saying by the opposition website Uznews.net on July 30. "You might think that there are crowds of people daily behind our doors dying to give us a bribe. But the takers [of bribes] are higher by rank and have a respectable status. Plus, it is not a problem for them to know where to get a bribe, or where to hide the profit.

"Those who came up with this absurd initiative don't even think about the way they degrade our human dignity," the employee added.