USAID

USAID Kyrgyz Republic

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Mission in Central Asia, has been providing development assistance for the Kyrgyz Republic since 1992. USAID programs in the Kyrgyz Republic are implemented through contracts and grants by more than 40 local and international organizations.  Implementing partners include U.N. agencies, for profit companies, and non-governmental organizations.

BUSINESS INFORMATION AND SKILLS: USAID is actively engaged in the development of private enterprise in Kyrgyzstan.  USAID’s Enterprise Development Project (EDP) advances the competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Kyrgyzstan by empowering them with the management tools necessary to enhance their growth. EDP has three Enterprise Development Centers in Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek, Osh, and Karakol), offering SME clients firm-level technical assistance in the areas of strategic planning, marketing, finance, operations, and trade promotion. The project’s association development component helps associations develop effective member services and advocacy skills, and an accounting reform component facilitates the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. Since August 2002, EDP has had a significant impact on the SME sector in Kyrgyzstan; EDP has developed 284 Strategic Action Plans for clients, and served 245 clients with aggregate sales estimated at over $74 million. EDP clients employ 5,200 people in Kyrgyzstan and have increased sales by 42% on average, with a productivity increase of 36%.

In addition to SME development, USAID also works in the area of economics and business education, through the Business & Economics Education (B&EE) Project.  B&EE helps develop stronger links among businesses and universities, enabling the latter to become more flexible and responsive to the market requirements for educated professionals, and to improve career opportunities for graduates in Kyrgyzstan and throughout Central Asia.  The program helps to develop faculty and advocacy mechanisms, and to capitalize on opportunities presented by ministries of education to evolve national standards toward world standards.  The project advances these goals by strengthening the Regional Network of Economic Universities (REGENA), which provides information and services to member universities; establishing a regional scholarship fund; piloting two university-based career centers and an entrepreneurship center; strengthening feedback mechanisms from the private sector to universities through targeted roundtables, assessments, and evaluations; and training and implementation of a grants program for applied research and case writing in partnership with the private sector.  The project also provides training for and will fund pilot implementation of a credit-hour system at a select university, and seeks to build support for policy reform at the ministerial level.  USAID also supports the development of business and economics education in high schools through the Junior Achievement Program.

The Agri-Enterprise Development Project provides assistance to improve the productivity and profitability of the agricultural system in southern Kyrgyzstan, thus reducing rural poverty and increasing social stability in this critical and troubled region. The project helped develop a trade association of private agribusinesses in southern Kyrgyzstan; it delivers legal advice, technology, information, and agricultural inputs (including seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection products) to its customers.Implementing partners: >The Pragma Corporation, Carana

TRADE AND INVESTMENT: USAID is streamlining the legal and regulatory environment for SMEs and helping develop a system of commercial and land legislation to support private enterprise and land market development.  USAID cooperates with local stakeholders to improve the trade and investment environment for SMEs.  USAID’s activities focus on the reduction of investment constraints and trade facilitation, including active participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO).  To reduce investment constraints, USAID works with the national government, select oblast and city administrations, and private sector business groups and associations to identify, analyze, and reduce regulatory and administrative constraints to trade, investment, and business development.  Together with these partners, USAID’s consultants review and implement laws, regulations, and procedures that create a more favorable business environment. This work helps remove outdated laws and regulations, reduce bureaucratic processes and procedural timeframes and costs, minimize government interference, and decrease the number of documents required to establish or operate a business.

To make it easier for businesses to deliver their products to market, USAID provides technical assistance to Kyrgyzstan in post-accession commitments; supports customs reform by helping Kyrgyzstan bring its customs legislation into compliance with WTO requirements and international best practices; facilitates transit by reducing barriers to the cross-border movement of goods and conveyances in the region; and provides assistance in developing trade services for importers and exporters, such as customs brokers and freight forwarders.

USAID provided financial and technical support and created action plans for improving the Investment Roundtable, a local NGO responsible for the coordination of joint government and private sector efforts in facilitating a better legal and regulatory environment for businesses. The partnership has been vital to developing national strategies and initiating action to support SME growth, as well as creating the political will necessary to create change at the national level.

USAID has also supported the evolution of an urban and rural land market by implementing land use techniques and educating citizens and government on land law. In cooperation with local administrations, USAID fields pilot demonstration projects in ten cities of Kyrgyzstan where studies and maps are being developed on current land use. Workshops were held on the implementation of zoning regulations and model rules for land use and development were published to inform city planners and zoning boards. The follow-on activity will facilitate the development of land markets in urban and rural areas of the country. Through its 22 offices located all over the country, USAID’s Legal Assistance for Rural Citizens Project resolves land disputes through legal consultation and representation, and instructs local government structures in the proper application of land law. With USAID technical assistance, the Kyrgyz Republic is introducing a market value based property tax system. These revenues will go directly to local governments’ budgets, thus facilitating and expanding the decentralization process.

The Commercial Law Project builds commercial law awareness among legal professionals and entrepreneurs as well as provides technical assistance in drafting commercial legislation. The project created a judicial opinion database which presently contains 26,500 opinions and hyperlinks to all laws, decrees, and regulations cited in any opinion, and this number is continuously growing. The database enables the Kyrgyz public to learn what cases courts are hearing, what legal issues and problems arise, how cases are being decided, and how the law is being applied. Training of judges in different aspects of law is conducted pursuant to an MOU signed in 2004 between USAID and the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan. The MOU was expanded in December 2005 to include technical assistance to the Supreme Court and the Court Department to improve case management practices and procedures, and to introduce an objective case assignment database.
Implementing partners:  The Pragma Corporation; Investment Roundtable; ARD/Checchi, Chemonics

FINANCIAL MARKETS: USAID continues to support the development of the financial sector of Kyrgyzstan with the overall objective of helping to increase the responsiveness of Kyrgyzstan’s financial institutions, instruments, and markets.  By building stronger financial institutions, developing a greater variety of financial instruments, and increasing the efficiency of financial markets, more capital will be accumulated and available for micro, small and medium size businesses, which in turn will lead to improved environment for SME growth in Kyrgyzstan.  USAID’s projects in this area include Economic Policy Reform (BearingPoint), the Central Asia Microfinance Alliance (ACDI/VOCA), Bank Loan Officers’ Training in Micro and Small Enterprise Lending (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), and the Small Enterprise Assistance Fund (SEAF).

USAID’s Economic Policy Reform Project helps the National Bank improve banking supervision practices.  This three-year project commenced its activities in March 2005; it follows USAID’s extensive work in the areas of bank accounting and bank supervision in prior years.  USAID funded the development and implementation of an on-site and off-site bank supervision system that features an early warning function to identify problem banks and thus adds security and confidence to the developing banking sector.  Also, assistance was provided to replace outdated accounting standards for commercial banks with International Accounting Standards.  To facilitate the transition, USAID provided training to approximately 200 accountants from the National Bank and commercial banks in International Accounting Standards.  USAID continues to promote legal reforms to increase the National Bank’s independence.

To strengthen the country’s microfinance sector, the Central Asia Microfinance Alliance (CAMFA) focuses on capacity building of local microfinance institutions (MFIs).  CAMFA accomplishes its mission by promoting best microfinance practices, transferring technical knowledge and skills, disseminating relevant and practical information necessary to establish sustainable microfinance operations, expanding MFI access to finance, and strengthening associations of microfinance institutions.  Through CAMFA, USAID also supports the Foundation for International Community Assistance Kyrgyzstan’s transformation into a microfinance bank.

USAID partners with the EBRD on EBRD’s Micro and Small Business Lending Program.  USAID funds the technical assistance and training provided by the EBRD to commercial banks on lending techniques to MSEs.  In 2005-2006, the program will also include a pilot project on rural and agricultural lending.

USAID also provides financial support to the Small Enterprise Assistance Fund, which expands opportunities for local firms to obtain financing through equity, debt, and leasing.
Implementing partners:   BearingPoint, Inc.; ACDI/VOCA; European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Small Enterprise Assistance Fund

FISCAL REFORM:  USAID’s Economic Policy Reform Project is assisting the Kyrgyz Republic to introduce a comprehensive tax code, which is expected to be passed into law by July 2006.  USAID activities also improve the transparency of the budget process, support decentralization through a comprehensive training program for local finance offices and adoption of formula-based inter-governmental finance system, assist with improving the capacity of the state to conduct independent audits of government through developing new public sector accounting and audit standards, and strengthen the capacity of the Parliamentary staff to conduct fiscal analysis.
Implementing partners:   BearingPoint, Inc.

AGRICULTURE:   USAID is providing assistance to the irrigated agriculture sector through the Water User Association Support Program (WUASP).  The aim of WUASP is to build the capacity of local institutions that use water resources for irrigation.  To support the transfer of effective management of irrigation systems to the local user level while improving crop yields and farm incomes, the project provides assistance in policy development, training, and infrastructure improvements.  Water management training provides skills and information in planning and allocating water to farmers, improved business practices, and methods of democratic WUA governance. In Kyrgyzstan, the program is being implemented in close cooperation with a large World Bank program to rehabilitate irrigation infrastructure.

USAID is also assisting the development of farm business productivity in the region through AgFin+.  The project links value chain players, including farmers, to specific markets and assists them in overcoming constraints in delivering products to those markets and capturing a fair return for their efforts.  Generating profit within pilot value chains will attract attention and incremental support from other donors and private investors. Additional funding and investments will enable the project to expand beyond pilot activities, which in turn will contribute to poverty reduction and economic growth.
Implementing partners: Winrock International, Development Alternatives Inc., Academy for Educational Development

WATER SECTOR: Kyrgyzstan is characterized by high mountain ranges that capture abundant snowfall, making the country rich in water resources. USAID’s water sector initiatives are primarily directed at: a) upgrading weather and water resources data collection and monitoring systems; and b) training in how to use this data and apply it in water management decisions, both at the national level as well as the regional transboundary water level.  To facilitate and contribute to regional collaboration, USAID is installing a unified communication network that will enable the rapid distribution of critical, real-time water information among all countries in the region.
Implementing partners: Meteor Communications Corporation, Academy for Educational Development

ENERGY SECTOR: Central Asia has significant energy resources and the energy sector is a main economic driver in the region.  There is a need, however, to improve the management of these resources across boundaries to maximize efficiencies and economic benefits from a growing energy market. USAID is in the initial phase of a project that will create a sound technical investment plan to increase the reliability of the transmission system in the region and expand the capacity for electricity trade.  USAID is planning to provide assistance in integrating the Central Asia system with Afghanistan through a new interconnection with Tajikistan and possibly Uzbekistan.  The project will also support the expansion of the Kazakhstan competitive power market to the rest of the region, beginning with the involvement of Kyrgyzstan.  

Health and Education

QUALITY PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: Thanks to successful USAID-supported reforms, people in Kyrgyzstan are receiving outpatient care from quality primary health care (PHC) practices, rather than specialty polyclinics and hospitals.  USAID’s activities on family medicine retraining and continuing medical education were institutionalized in 2004, when the final class of trainers graduated from their year-long program and completed the staffing of all oblast-level family medicine training centers. The first such faculty in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Faculty of Family Medicine Nursing is successfully retraining family nurses for PHC.  As the number of retrained family doctors and nurses approach target levels, both the doctor and the nurse retraining programs are becoming recognized and utilized by other countries in Central Asia.

The family medicine training program is setting up continuing medical education programs and linking these with continuous quality improvement pilots in selected oblasts.  Kyrgyzstan is also moving in a unique direction by setting up a comprehensive national framework to improve the quality of health care.  Family medicine training centers have integrated previously vertical programs, like integrated management of childhood illnesses, family planning, and TB-DOTS into family medicine training and, in light of the emerging problem with malaria in the south of the country, PHC doctors were trained on malaria. New directions of health reform will also be pursued, including reform of the Sanitary-Epidemiological Service, to comply with modern public health standards.

A new Manas II State Health Reform Strategy for 2006-2010 has been developed and launched by the Government of Kyrgyzstan.   Its main goals are the provision of equal and guaranteed access to quality and effective health services.  USAID provided technical assistance in the development of the strategy.

USAID has awarded 85 grants to local NGOs to implement activities that address priority health needs. The National Hospital Association is expanding training in financial management and USAID is extending the single payer system, including co-payments, to the south of the country and Bishkek city.   Introduction of an outpatient drug benefit is beginning to show that utilization of PHC increases when drugs are available. 
Implementing partners: Abt Associates, Counterpart International

MATERNAL, CHILD, AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: The integration of key maternal, child, and reproductive health (MCH) programs, such as the integrated management of childhood illnesses and family planning, into family medicine training, enables the sustainable national roll out of these activities. To increase women’s access to contraceptives in the rural areas of Kyrgyzstan, midwives in Bazar Korgon rayon of Jalalabad oblast were trained to add IUD insertion to their skills—under carefully-monitored conditions to protect clients’ safety.  Prior to this training, Kyrgyz women were required to see a specialist (usually urban-based) for such services.  The Ministry of Health is eager to expand such training to rural areas nationwide and midwife training is being introduced in two more districts.   The continuous quality improvement system introduced in 2001 for reproductive health services has been expanded to new clinical areas, including child health, and is being introduced nationwide.  USAID promotes healthy behaviors with campaigns on diarrhea and breastfeeding, and improves the effectiveness of interactions between providers and patients by training PHC staff on interpersonal communication skills.

USAID’s Healthy Family project, which strengthens and improves the quality of existing local health care services and delivery systems, has been expanded to an additional oblast, thereby increasing the number of women and children benefiting from improved maternal and child health services.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to advocate for the introduction of the internationally-accepted World Health Organization definition of infant mortality.  This involves policy change at the national level, training of perinatologists, obstetricians, and pediatricians, and provision of equipment to assist in resuscitation and measurement of newborns.  The WHO criteria provide a broader definition of live birth than did the Soviet version, opening the way for internationally- comparable statistics and interventions to reduce infant mortality.
Implementing partners: Abt Associates, Project HOPE Consortium; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONTROL: USAID began work on tuberculosis (TB) control with the Ministry of Health in 1997 to assist with implementation of the World Health Organization recommended Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) strategy. At the beginning of DOTS implementation in Kyrgyzstan, USAID focused its efforts on the National TB Institute, as other donors supported DOTS implementation throughout the country.  Upon the Ministry of Health’s request, since 2001, USAID has been working on strengthening the DOTS monitoring system nationwide. USAID helped the Government establish a Coordinating Council on Tuberculosis in Kyrgyzstan and TB thematic working groups, continues to strengthen the National Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory, and, in close collaboration with local TB specialists, supports training and monitoring in all oblasts.  To help treat patients more effectively, USAID provided assistance in integrating TB services into PHC, which aligned TB with ongoing sector reform.  Due to USAID’s support, the DOTS training program for primary health care (PHC) workers is incorporated into the curriculum of the Kyrgyz Post-Graduate Medical Institute and its affiliates.  To date, USAID has trained more than 2,000 TB specialists and PHC doctors, as well as 141 laboratory specialist.  In 2005, USAID’s Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program introduced Thin Layer Chromatography to Kyrgyzstan as a low-cost easy-to-use method to check the quality of TB drugs as well as approximately 40 other drugs, including antiretrovirals to be procured for treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS.

CDC’s Electronic Surveillance Case Management System (ESCM), introduced nationally in late 2002, strengthens laboratory services and provides data to decision makers regarding TB services. From 2004-2005, the program trained 170 specialists on ESCM. CDC helped establish a training center on blood safety at the Republican Blood Center and trained 250 specialists from the Republican and Oblast Blood Centers.  A system of internal and external laboratory quality control for blood screening was introduced, and five laboratories (the Republican Blood Center and four oblast AIDS Centers) were provided laboratory equipment.  Six Kyrgyzstani epidemiologists have graduated from or are participating in CDC’s two-year work-study Applied Epidemiology Training Program.

USAID and other donor support resulted in a 17% decrease in deaths from TB (from 13.5 deaths per 100,000 in 1998 to 11.2 deaths in 2004). 
Implementing partners: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Project HOPE Consortium; Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program; World Health Organization; MERLIN

HIV/AIDS PREVENTION AND CONTROL:  Kyrgyzstan, like the other Central Asian Republics, still has relatively low HIV prevalence, which is classified as a concentrated epidemic (less than 1% infection among the general population, and less than 5% among high-risk groups).  Nonetheless, recent sharp increases in the number of new infections, high prevalence among vulnerable populations, and the country’s position at the crossroads of the drug-trafficking routes between Asia and Europe mean that it is highly vulnerable to a rapid acceleration of the epidemic.

The United Nations estimates that there were 4,000 HIV-positive people in Kyrgyzstan in 2003, in contrast to the 723 officially-registered cases as of June 2005.  Throughout the region, officially-registered cases are deemed to be a significant underestimate of the true incidence of HIV.  Similarly, while there are 6,327 officially-registered drug users, the estimated number may be closer to between 65,000 and 85,000.  Although the epidemic started among injecting drug users (IDUs), and this behavior remains the primary mode of transmission, accounting for approximately 84% of infections, sexual transmission is increasing.  Female IDUs engaging in prostitution create a “bridge” to the general population.

USAID and CDC have helped to establish two sentinel surveillance sites in Bishkek and Osh, where the largest HIV-positive populations are currently found, and have trained experts to gather and analyze the data. Thanks to USAID-funded behavioral studies, prevention programs are better focused in the highest-risk areas and populations.

The Ministry of Health is considering a national roll-out of a treatment program for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in PHC clinics. USAID is supporting two such pilots in Tokmok City of Chui Oblast and in Jalalabad.  If successful, these models should lead to a nation-wide program.

Containing HIV/AIDS requires a number of approaches, including peer and outreach education activities that support behavioral changes among IDUs and prostitutes and improving access to condoms to reduce transmission of STIs and HIV. USAID is facilitating efforts to reduce demand for illegal drugs by supporting work with vulnerable populations through its Drug Demand Reduction Program (DDRP).  Focused in Ferghana Valley in Kyrgyzstan, DDRP works with target populations, including vulnerable youth, prostitutes, prisoners, and migrants.  DDRP aims to increase these groups’ access to and use of quality drug demand reduction services, social support, and other healthy alternatives to heroin/opiate use.  The project uses an evidence-based public health approach, drawing on regional and international experience in drug prevention and treatment.  Vulnerable youth are the primary focus of an “ABC” program, which focuses on abstinence, faithfulness to one partner, and condom use through a social marketing campaign, as well as peer-to-peer HIV education.

In the fall of 2004, USAID launched a five-year HIV/AIDS prevention and control activity, the Central Asian Program on AIDS Control and Intervention Targeting Youth and Vulnerable Groups (CAPACITY).   CAPACITY’s purpose is to build Central Asian technical capacity to launch large-scale responses to HIV/AIDS, and to develop institutions and networks to manage comprehensive HIV/AIDS control programs, including those funded through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; World Bank; the British Department for International Development (DFID); and other donors.   CAPACITY will also build on past USAID investments in NGO capacity development.  Activities will include assistance in all phases of Global Fund grant implementation; risk reduction and healthy behavior activities; a continuum of care approach including voluntary counseling and testing, treatment, and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV/TB co-infection; NGO capacity building; and integration of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment into PHC systems. 
Implementing partners: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; John Snow Institute for Research and Development; Alliance for Open Society International

HEALTH PARTNERSHIPS: The USAID/ American International Health Alliance Partnership Program between the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy, the University of Nevada School of Medicine, and the University of South Florida Health Sciences Center has resulted in significant reforms in family medicine curricula and faculty in Kyrgyzstan, and the establishment of residency-based programs.

USAID’s ongoing Regional Undergraduate Medical Education Partnership is aimed at strengthening the quality of medical education and training, increasing the use of evidence-based practices, advancing research in health sciences, and integrating education into effective healthcare services.

The Regional Nursing Education and Leadership Development Partnership is enhancing nursing roles and developing the nursing profession overall, improving basic and advanced nursing education, and strengthening nursing associations.
Implementing partners: American International Health Alliance

BASIC EDUCATION: The USAID Basic Education Program seeks to improve the quality of education at primary and secondary levels through better teaching, effective management and governance, as well as efficient and transparent use of financing.

Through a network of nine school-based teacher training centers, or Professional Development Schools (PDS), USAID promotes modern interactive teaching methodologies that stimulate higher-level cognitive abilities and critical thinking skills.  At the same time, school administrators are trained in effective management and strategic planning.  Currently, 84 cluster schools across the country, with more than 75,000 students enrolled, receive training and mentoring support from the PDS.  In 2005 alone, USAID trained nearly 2,000 teachers and 221 school administrators.  The new methodologies were recognized by the main teacher professional development agency, the Kyrgyz Academy of Education, and official certification is underway.  Additionally, a pilot in Issyk-Kul Oblast is introducing pre-paid vouchers for teacher training. With these vouchers, teachers are free to select the training provider among state or private organizations.  In an effort to strengthen the constituency for reform in the education sector in the Kyrgyz Republic, USAID supports local education NGOs and encourages association-building among teachers of pilot schools.

USAID also facilitates education finance reform through a ministerial finance working group, which supervises the introduction of a capitation-based financing pilot in Tokmak, Chui Oblast.  It is expected that the new mechanism will increase efficiency and transparency in funds distribution in the sector, as well as create incentives for quality improvement by shifting greater budget management responsibilities to schools and ensuring that funding is responsive to enrollment rates.

While direct support at the community level ended in 2005, impressive results in this area are likely to be sustained.  Forty-three community groups have been created during the last year to support quality improvement in education and address access issues at the local level.  Twenty-one of these groups formed on their own initiative, as soon as they learned about the benefits of community involvement in the USAID target areas.  School renovations were completed successfully by 16 community groups, with the community cost share ranging from 20% to 50% of the total project value.
Implementing partners:  Academy for Educational Development

NATIONAL TESTING:  At the request of the Kyrgyz Government, USAID supports the Kyrgyz National Testing Initiative, which provides a fair opportunity for high-school graduates to receive government funding for higher education.  Administered at 40 to 80 sites to over 35,000 applicants each year, the test promotes transparency and fairness of the examination and enrollment processes.   Unlike regular entrance exams, the test is designed to measure aptitude (ability to learn), thereby providing an even playing field for applicants from schools in less advantaged and rural areas. In 2004, test design and implementation were transferred to an indigenous testing organization established by USAID.
Implementing partners:  American Councils for International Education

Democracy and Conflict Mitigation

MEDIA FREEDOM AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: USAID’s media initiative provides training and assistance to improve the use of modern production technology and update journalism quality in both print and broadcast media. In addition, a production fund encourages local programming, and a legal advisor provides consultation to media outlets.  Under a new initiative, USAID will support the broadcast of news and informational programming by satellite to expand access to information.  To protect press freedom in Kyrgyzstan and throughout the region, USAID provides assistance for monitoring freedom of speech through a local NGO.

USAID’s Anti-trafficking Program focuses on trafficking prevention and protection of trafficked persons.  The program provides grants to local organizations to educate citizens about trafficking and alternative employment opportunities and assists local crisis centers and shelters in offering support services to trafficking victims.

A training and technical support program for human rights activists and organizations focuses on human rights monitoring, reporting, and advocacy. USAID supports improvements in legal education, trains lawyers in international and domestic law, and disseminates legal information.
Implementing partners:  Internews; Adil Soz; International Organization for Migration; Freedom House; American Bar Association’s;  Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative;

STRENGTHEN DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL PARTIES: USAID supports the Coalition of NGOs for Democracy and Civil Society, which plays a vital watchdog role in monitoring elections, participating in public hearings on proposed legislation, and promoting citizen discussion of legislative change. USAID also provides training and technical assistance to democratic political parties to strengthen their organizational and outreach efforts.    To improve election transparency and accountability, USAID provides technical assistance and some commodity support to electoral commissions.  In addition, USAID programs offer technical assistance aimed at improving the legal framework for the electoral process.
Implementing partners:  National Democratic Institute; International Republican Institute; International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES)

DEMOCRATIC LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND DECENTRALIZATION: In support of local government and decentralization, USAID is assisting partner cities both in the North and the South of the country in developing modern management approaches for municipal assets, urban land, and municipal service delivery and is promoting citizen participation through public hearings and other citizen participation techniques. USAID is also providing support to the government to implement principles of political and financial decentralization.  
Implementing partners:  Urban Institute

CONFLICT MITIGATION: USAID’s conflict prevention activities are focused in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan, where tensions run especially high because of closed international borders that restrict trade and population movement, disputes over recent land reform measures, a general lack of information, government control of media, unemployment, and general problems pertinent to ethnically mixed population centers such as the Ferghana Valley. Through its assistance programs, USAID aims to increase economic opportunities, improve service delivery, and promote greater citizen participation in addressing issues at the core of potential conflict. The Collaborative Development Initiative supports community-based economic development, youth empowerment, information-sharing, and local government reform. Another USAID project, the Peaceful Communities Initiative, works in 36 communities across the Ferghana Valley, providing training in more inclusive and participatory decision-making as well as support for social projects (such as sporting events and celebrations) and small infrastructure projects that have a specific economic focus (such as school roof repair, rehabilitation of natural gas pipelines, and improvement of drinking water systems).
Implementing partners:  Mercy Corps

Supporting Activities

PARTICIPANT TRAINING: USAID’s Participant Training Program provides training for Central Asians across USAID’s assistance sectors. Program participants represent a broad cross-section of the society: government ministers, heads of businesses, NGO leaders, and citizens committed to reform in their areas of expertise.  In Kyrgyzstan, the program focuses on small and medium enterprise development, fiscal and tax reform, higher education, and NGO development. It also conducts trainings for advocacy, management, and technical training for primary health care workers. The regional nature of the training allows colleagues across borders to share lessons learned and, where relevant, to develop cooperative solutions to common problems.

In 2005, USAID trained nearly 6,000 Kyrgyz citizens (approximately 45% were women) through the Participant Training Program. Many USAID trainings were implemented on short notice in response to the political events of 2005. Trainings have focused on voter education, exit polling, and helping USAID to establish a working relationship with the new government. Fiscal and tax reform, small and medium enterprise development, local governance, primary health-care reform, energy and water resources, conflict resolution, and education reform were focus areas for participant training courses in 2005.
Implementing partners:  Academy for Educational Development

Community Connections:  USAID recently began implementation of the Community Connections Program.  Through this program, approximately 60 Kyrgyz citizens per year will participate in exchanges to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Kyrgyzstan through exposure to U.S. society and personal connections with Americans.  The Community Connections Program will help achieve U.S. Government priorities in Kyrgyzstan by targeting professional groups and individual entrepreneurs that are central to economic and democratic reform.  Exchange programs will last from 3-5 weeks, and be tailored to the individual needs of participants. 
Implementing partners:  American Councils for International Education

EURASIA FOUNDATION: The Eurasia Foundation runs demand-driven, grass roots programs in private enterprise development, civil society, public administration, and education. Funded by USAID grants, Eurasia Foundation’s work complements other USAID programs to help implement USAID’s objectives. In 2005, the Eurasia Foundation provided approximately $1.5 million in technical assistance to local organizations including 40 grants to Kyrgyzstani NGOs. More than half of this assistance supported civil society development; the remainder facilitated improvements in the areas of private enterprise and public policy and administration.

With the support of public and private donors, in 2005, the Eurasia Foundation operated targeted initiatives in six main areas.  The Foundation conducted independent exit polls for the parliamentary and presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan. The Foundation continued work in business management for independent media, and provided legal and job training assistance for Kyrgyz labor migrants while supporting community-based ecological tourism.  To create synergies between businesses and higher education institutions through applied research studies, the Eurasia Foundation helped raise funds for the Central Asia Applied Research Network.  The Foundation’s support to a network of youth employment centers helped link businesses with qualified young job-seekers.

The Foundation is in the process of establishing the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, an independent, local foundation that will continue to support civil society and private enterprise development programs in the region once Eurasia Foundation activities end.
Implementing partners:  Eurasia Foundation