Central Asian Republics Regional

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Development Challenge The USAID Program Other Program Elements Other Donors Program Data Sheets Summary Tables USAID Search: Central Asia Regional Activities Previous Years' Activities 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997 Last updated: 29     (text taken from the FY 2003 Congressional Budget Justification) The Development Challenge: The governments of all five Central Asian Republics 1 willingly supported the U.S. effort against terrorism in various ways. The effort appears to have engendered greater regional cooperation among these five competitive nations. Even Turkmenistan, which is generally reluctant to engage internationally, has been key to the Afghan humanitarian relief effort. The potential for the spread of Islamic radicalism is a major anxiety for the republics' leaders and has enabled them to justify human rights transgressions in the name of national security. Unfortunately, the three republics that border Afghanistan (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan) have shown the least commitment to economic and political reform, and the war may create plausible excuses for them to regress even further in this regard. Balancing repression in the name of stability and national security with democratization, human rights and economic growth is one of USAID's greatest challenges in this region. Overall, aspects of public civic action are taking hold to varying degrees in all five of the Central Asian republics, but real reform within the present authoritarian systems will be slow for some time yet. Likewise, while superficial economic reforms have taken hold in some republics, there is only a fledgling competitive business sector outside of the oligarchies. Income disparities and unemployment rates in the region have not decreased significantly. Social services, water and energy are taken very much for granted; cost-effectiveness and cost recovery are still foreign. Healthcare is an area where commitment to reform is growing. All five republics are making efforts to improve primary health care and are actively battling the rising incidence of tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, and drug addiction. The overall challenge in the region is to build broad-based economic and political systems through expanding opportunities for citizens, thus building longer-term stability in the region. Failure to implement these political, economic and social changes would ultimately result in radicalism and the exacerbation of social and ethnic tensions. Improving economic opportunities also involves cost-effective social services and natural resource management, especially in the critical water and energy sectors. USAID is addressing these challenges primarily through its bilateral assistance programs in enterprise development, health, water, energy, and democracy. However, Central Asia's development challenges also require a regional response. For example, resurgence of infectious disease is a regional problem. A disease outbreak in one country frequently leads to the resurgence of this disease in neighboring countries. Region-wide drug trafficking, a serious problem in itself, also exacerbates HIV rates. Thus, coordinated regional efforts are needed to effectively deal with these threats. Water is a scarce resource throughout the region, and questions about its distribution and use are a potential source of conflict. Equitable distribution and use of this resource requires strengthening mechanisms for cooperation and coordination among all five Central Asian countries. The drought of the last few years has intensified the already critical issues concerning water use and allocation. The region is rife with impediments to free trade and marketing due to difficult border situations, and lack of sufficient progress in trade policy reform. A regional approach also enables the Central Asian countries to share lessons learned and information with their neighbors to promote improved business and economic opportunities, civil society and open media. 1 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan [Return to text] THE USAID PROGRAM: FY 2002 Estimate: $7.9 million $6.0 million Emergency Response Fund FY 2003 Request: $9.0 million To meet these challenges, the goal of USAID in Central Asia is to expand opportunities for citizens to participate, and to improve their livelihoods and quality of life. The Program Data Sheets provided below cover the ongoing four objectives for which USAID is requesting funds: primary health care; water and energy resource management; democratic culture and institutions; and small enterprise and trade. As noted above, USAID's regional objectives parallel and support the specific country objectives. FY 2002 funds will be used to implement the program described in the FY 2002 Congressional Budget Justification, including water management, infectious disease control, regional trade and conflict prevention (in the Ferghana Valley). USAID will also use current year funding to expand its cross-cutting initiative in conflict mitigation through community development and to explore opportunities in higher education, anti-corruption and rule of law. The specific activities to be funded by FY 2002 and FY 2003 appropriations are described in more detail in the following Program Data Sheets. USAID will use $3 million of the FY 2003 regional program request to fund new activities in conflict mitigation, while $5.1 million will fund ongoing efforts. $6 million in supplemental funds will be used for conflict prevention. On-going Programs for Which No FY 2002 or FY 2003 Funding is Requested: Number: Title: Last Notified: Planned Completion: 176-0150 More Economically and Environmentally Sustainable Energy Sector FY02 CBJ, p. 805 FY 2002 OTHER PROGRAM ELEMENTS: The USAID mission also takes advantage of technical expertise available in the Centers for Disease Control, including its regional office in Almaty. Other country-specific programs in which USAID participates include the Global Training for Development Program, through which USAID trained over 5,000 Central Asians in primary health care, democratic reform, economic and business education, and enterprise and finance in FY 2001. The Farmer-to-Farmer program managed by the Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, is active throughout Central Asia. USAID also takes advantage of the new Monitoring and Evaluation to Assess and Use Results (MEASURE)/Evaluation Program managed out of the Bureau for Global Health. The Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Agriculture, and State also manage programs complementary to USAID field activities in various sectors. OTHER DONORS: Although there are many other donors in each of the specific republics of Central Asia, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), European Union/Technical Assistance for the Commonwealth of Independent States (EU/TACIS) and World Bank have programs that are funded on a regional basis (as opposed to bilateral) programs. UNDP and EU/TACIS are working on customs and transportation; the World Bank is working on energy and water management. USAID is collaborating closely with the World Bank. Program Data Sheets 176-0131  An Improved Environment for the Growth of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises 176-0161  Improved Management of Critical Natural Resources, including Energy 176-0211  Strengthened Democratic Culture Among Citizens and Targeted Institutions 176-0320  Increased Utilization of Quality Primary Health Care for Select Populations 176-0420  Cross-cutting Programs

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