USAID

USAID Kyrgyz Republic

Since 1992, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been providing assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic to help the country achieve substantial progress in the areas of economic growth, democratic governance, health care reform, improvement of basic education, and agricultural development. However, impediments to development remain, including low foreign investment, high unemployment, corruption, and endemic poverty. Approximately one-third of the Kyrgyz Republic’s workforce is employed abroad, draining the country of its qualified labor and reducing the availability of services. The implementation of democratic reforms remains a challenge, and limited energy resources and low agricultural productivity leave the country susceptible to humanitarian crises. 

PROGRAMS

DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOVERNANCE

USAID’s extensive support helped to ensure the conduct of fair and free parliamentary elections in November 2010 and the presidential election in October 2011 following the unrest of 2010 and the transitional period of the interim government. USAID trained nearly 30,000 election officials, and voter education programs reached 756,000 citizens.

Since the elections, the Kyrgyz Republic has emerged as Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy and the first country in the region to experience a peaceful and democratic transition of presidential power. USAID is capitalizing on these important developments by providing expert advice and training to the country’s new parliament through the Parliamentary Strengthening Project, which is working to make the Parliament an effective and democratic institution and a model for Central Asia and beyond. USAID is also working closely with Government officials to improve the operations of the judiciary.

USAID will strengthen its relationship with civil society organizations to enhance their capacity for providing input into national-level decision making and public oversight. Recognizing that youth make up a large segment of the population, USAID is also working on building the life skills, entrepreneurial spirit, and civic commitment of the country’s young people.

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TRADE

USAID’s Local Development Project is designed to stimulate rapid, diversified, and sustainable economic growth by supporting local economic development in the Kyrgyz Republic. The project works with 24 partner municipalities, towns, and villages throughout country that were competitively selected. USAID’s assistance focuses on improving local governments’ capacity to provide citizen services and promote economic growth at the local level.  Under USAID’s REFORMA project, assistance is provided in various economic policy areas, including taxation, trade, and licensing.

USAID is also helping to reform the country’s energy sector and develop policies to mitigate energy shortages. USAID supports the country’s development of its hydro resources and its integration into a regional energy market.

The Kyrgyz Republic Agro-Input Enterprise Development project helps address long-term challenges related to agricultural productivity. To reduce the impact of rising food prices and low agricultural productivity, USAID is helping to introduce modern technologies to increase the ability of the agricultural sector to provide food and incomes, and is encouraging public-private partnerships. 

EDUCATION

USAID works closely with the Kyrgyz Republic’s Ministry of Education, local counterparts, and other donors to expand access to quality basic and higher education. USAID assists the government of the Kyrgyz Republic to improve teacher training and student assessments, promote teacher involvement in curriculum reform, and overhaul the educational finance system. Over 20 percent of the country’s primary school students have benefited from this assistance. USAID supports student loan guarantees to enable students to access the country’s higher quality universities and vocational schools. USAID also supports literacy improvements and dropout prevention programs across the country.

GLOBAL HEALTH

USAID’s programs in the health sector seek to build the national government’s capacity to improve access to high-quality services for maternal and child health and infectious diseases (HIV, polio, and tuberculosis). USAID helped the country design its health reform plans and is supporting a continued dialogue on health finance reforms. With USAID’s assistance, the country adopted a single-payer system and an institute of family medicine that supports over 700 health centers staffed with specialists trained by USAID.