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New £14m poverty plan targets economic growth across Central Asia

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 30 September 2009

A new plan to allocate £14 million is set to drive economic growth across Central Asia and tackle poverty in the region’s poorest areas.

The Department for International Development’s three-year plan will look at boosting the business climate across the region, strengthening public services and improving the effectiveness of development organisations.
By 2012 the plan aims to turn around the region’s finances by:

Helping over one million people participate in rural growth programmes, including setting up new small businesses.Helping at least 5,000 rural men, women and children take advantage of the opportunities migration providesEnsuring at least 20,000 people in the region at risk of HIV and AIDS are able to access harm reduction services Helping the poorest 40 percent of households significantly reduce the amount they spend on health.

DFID’s work in the region to date has focussed on the two poorest countries, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Under the new Central Asia Development Strategy, UK aid will continue this support, but will also be used to reduce poverty regionally by promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth across all five countries in Central Asia.

Talking about the new plan, Development Minister Mike Foster said:

“The collapse of the former Soviet Union had a significant impact on Central Asia, and the recent economic downturn has made worse an already fragile situation. The Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan are particularly at risk from the global recession, and face major challenges including lack of economic opportunities and a continuing dependence on remittances.

“We believe that one of the best ways to alleviate poverty in these countries is to look at making it easier to set up new enterprises and to do business in order to boost the economic growth that is needed for long-term stability. To do this, we need to move beyond a focus on individual countries and look to help tackle challenges across the region.”

The plan sets out how £14m will be spent in three key areas: improving the effectiveness of the main organisations working on development issues nationally and regionally; promoting an improved business climate for private sector development; and strengthening public service delivery in Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic.

Notes to Editors

1. DFID’s Central Asia Development Strategy can be found on our website at www.dfid.gov.uk

2. Central Asia is made up of the five former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, the poorest countries in the region, face major challenges. Some 80%–90% of their territory is mountainous, leaving just 5%–7% of land for cultivation of crops. 70% of the population live in rural areas. Lack of economic opportunities in both countries means that many young people, mainly men, have to seek employment elsewhere. Both countries are heavily dependent on remittances and more recently the whole region has been hit hard by the global economic downturn.

3. DFID has been working in Central Asia since 1997, first in the Kyrgyz Republic, and then in Tajikistan from 2003. In addition to our bilateral programme work we contribute to the region’s development through the UK’s membership of multilateral organisations including the EU, the World Bank, the UN, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank.

4. DFID is already working regionally on HIV and AIDS. The Central Asia HIV and AIDS Programme supports 32 “Trust Points” and mobile units in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and is focused on providing harm reduction services for vulnerable groups (19,000 clients to date) to significantly reduce transmission of HIV. We also fund the World Bank’s Central Asia Aids Project.

Contacts:

Michael Haig.
Phone: 020 70230423
m-haig@dfid.gov.uk