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Kazakhstan

EXAMPLES OF OUR IMPACT

• USAID has reached over 1.5 million people with improved child care information.
• Since 2000, USAID has helped to reduce TB rates, saving over 30,000 lives.
• The members of USAID-supported Association of Microfinance Organizations of Kazakhstan currently service 64 percent of the microfinance market.

USAID/CENTRAL ASIA SITE
http://centralasia.usaid.gov

CONTACTS
Regional Mission Director
Andrew Sisson
USAID/Central Asia
41 Kazibek bi St,
Almaty, Kazakhstan 050010
Tel: 7-727-250-76-12

USAID Branch Office - Astana
U.S. Embassy
Ak Bulak 4, Str. 23-22, Building #3
Astana, Kazakhstan 010010
Tel: 7-3172-70-21-00

Bob Wallin
Central Asia Team Leader
Tel: 202-712-0141
Email: bowallin@usaid.gov

“Birth classes helped me prepare for the delivery of our son, so that I was able to help my wife,” says Marat Suleymenov, a beneficiary of a USAID partnership with ExxonMobil that worked to improve health care for residents Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. Many of these improvements now serve as models for other cities across the country. (Photo: Abt Associates)

Overview

Kazakhstan is a strategic U.S. partner in Central Asia. The country is becoming increasingly influential in the region and on the world stage as its economy stabilizes as the result of sound economic reforms. Nevertheless, Kazakhstan continues to face a number of development challenges, many of which have their roots in the Soviet era. These include an oil-based economy with a regulatory system that impedes the growth of business; limited media activity and low civic participation in governance; and a costly and ineffective medical system. USAID is partnering with the government and the private sector of Kazakhstan to enhance economic diversification, further democratic political reform, and improve the primary health care system.

Programs

Economic Growth
Since 1992, when it started working in the country, USAID has helped Kazakhstan restructure a number of institutions and pieces of legislation key to the country’s transition to a market economy. These reforms included privatization and pension reform, as well as numerous other laws governing Kazakhstan’s economy.

Since 2006, USAID’s economic growth programs have been co-funded by the Government of Kazakhstan, signaling the country’s continued interest in USAID’s expertise and support. These programs have helped Kazakhstan become one of the world’s 50 most competitive countries.

To help the country attract foreign investment, USAID introduced an accounting training program based on international standards for financial reporting. This program has been recognized by the Government of Kazakhstan as an official accounting program; over 21 percent of all the country’s accountants have received internationally recognized qualifications through it.

To create a vibrant microfinance industry, USAID helped revise the microcredit law, assisted in founding a number of key institutions, and contributed to the establishment of the Association of Microfinance Organizations of Kazakhstan, whose members currently service 64 percent of the country’s microfinance market.

Assistance to government working groups, business associations, and line ministries helped reduce the number of permits required to open, operate, and liquidate a business; enhanced investor protections; and streamlined processes for trade. Such reforms are estimated to have saved Kazakhstan’s businesses at least $289 million in 2008 alone by removing a number of excessive requirements on business operations.

Investing In People: Quality Health Care
USAID was the first and primary donor to assist Kazakhstan with the challenge of making the health system financially viable and able to provide quality health care to the population. USAID helped introduce country’s first family medicine centers and supported retraining of doctors to provide evidence-based and patient-oriented services. To improve maternal, child, and reproductive health services, USAID has provided over 1.5 million people with improved child care information and helped introduce a number of international practices. One of these new practices was the international definition of live birth; doctors now try to save the lives of even the smallest infants, who were counted as stillborn under the Soviet system. USAID’s birth preparedness schools have helped more than 16,000 women have safer births and are now being replicated countrywide.

USAID also helps Kazakhstan combat avian influenza and control infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB), including multi-drug-resistant TB. These efforts have helped to reduce TB rates from 167 per 100,000 population in 2000 to 125 per 100,000 population in 2009, saving over 30,000 lives.

Governing Justly And Democratically
With USAID support, Kazakhstan has developed a robust network of nongovernmental organizations that are able to provide services and advocacy in various areas. To enhance access to information, USAID has trained hundreds of television, radio, and print journalists. USAID's programs continue to facilitate the development of a democratic culture through support for civil society, independent media, the development of political parties, and the protection of human rights. To improve the transparency of and public trust in the court system, USAID helped build a judicial mentorship program and piloted the use of video systems to record court proceedings. The latter measure is now being replicated countrywide in cooperation with the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan.

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