More than 30% of the population in Kyrgyzstan lives in poverty, of which 750,000 are just children. Known officially also as the Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyzstan is a central Asian country that gained independence in 1991. Constituting many highlands, the geography of Kyrgyzstan allows for livestock raising, farming and production of crops and commodities. Products like meat, dairy and fruit drive the country’s agriculture, which comprises a huge sector of the national economy.

Mercy Corps Efforts in Kyrgyzstan

In 1994, Mercy Corps began its poverty-alleviating efforts in Kyrgyzstan, becoming one of the first nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to work there. An international organization that operates in more than 40 countries, Mercy Corps focuses on helping people in conflict and disaster areas by providing emergency relief, improving child nutrition and building secure communities among the most vulnerable members of a country’s population. In 2023 alone, it reached 30 million people worldwide.

In Kyrgyzstan, Mercy Corps has cooperated with the United Kingdom (U.K.), the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU) Governments, as well as donor organizations and private foundations. They aim to address child poverty, provide disaster relief, improve access to clean water and sanitation and more. Here are all the significant strives Mercy Corps has made to support poverty-alleviating efforts in Kyrgyzstan:

• In 2004, a “micro-finance institution” named “Kompanion” was established. It focuses on group lending and has now become the largest of its kind in Kyrgyzstan. Kompanion provided credit and emergency relief assistance to roughly 4000 of its clients and their families in the Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces following a conflict eruption in 2010 that made them suffer significant losses.
• In 2012, the “McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program” was implemented. Over the next nine years, the program successfully aided in poverty alleviation efforts in Kyrgyzstan. It provided nutrition-based feeding in 510 schools. Additionally, more than 10,000 kindergarten and primary school children were supplied with commodities such as rice, peas and oil. In 2021, the program supported more than 80,000 children across 400 schools by distributing free hot meals.
• In 2023, it supported four village schools in repairing their indoor toilets in accordance with government-mandated sanitary regulations.
• On March 1, 2024, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science, Mercy Corps launched Kyrgyzstan’s first online professional training course for chefs. The course is the latest extension of the McGovern-Dole Program. It aims to increase school cafeteria chefs’ qualifications and make training more accessible nationwide. After completing the course, participants will receive diplomas and certifications. They are then able to go on to complete a one-week internship at a vocational training center.

Conclusion

Though one-fifth of the Kyrgyz population still lives on less than $1.3 a day, Mercy Corps poverty-alleviating efforts in Kyrgyzstan since 1994 have been monumental. Its approach of integrating a mix of advocacy, capacity building and resource distribution through its programs helps tackle poverty, nutrition and sanitation issues. Additionally, it helps provide emergency relief to the most vulnerable parts of the population in times of crisis.

– Jay Kosumi
Photo: Wikimedia Commons