16-year-old schoolgirl died after surgery at a provincial hospital in Samarkand. The girl visited physicians complaining of breathing difficulty and was advised she needed an operation. On July 1, she atient arrived at the ENT department of the hospital with her grandmother. Several hours after the start of the procedure, she died.

According to the grandmother, she was told for a long time that the operation was ongoing and that her granddaughter had not yet regained consciousness. However, later a group of doctors with medical equipment entered the operating room. The girl was carried out on a stretcher connected to oxygen. The relative believes that at that moment she was already dead.

The girl's family assumes that a medical tampon could have remained in the respiratory tract, resulting in suffocation. The provincial hospital confirmed the fact of the patient's death, specifying that her condition worsened after the operation.

The prosecutor's office is currently conducting a pre-investigation probe. Law enforcement agencies ordered a forensic medical examination and initiated an internal investigation into the medical facility.

The corruption in the higher education sector, in particular the medical higher education, has been resulting in inadequate skills and professional level of graduates, and which has become a danger to the public. Scores of deaths and health complications due to unskilled medical treatment have been recorded in Uzbekistan over the last decade.

Unless the government of Uzbekistan and international organizations commence acknowledging and dealing with the issue of corruption, reverse of economic prosperity and potential danger only awaits the country.