Lack of funding prevents UN from helping most vulnerable in Kyrgyzstan

Just over 10 per cent of a United Nations appeal to help 800,000 of the most vulnerable people in Kyrgyzstan, which is in need of back-up power supplies and food, has been funded, the world body’s humanitarian office announced today.

In spite of the Government’s best efforts and a relatively mild winter in the Central Asian nation, power cuts and food insecurity continue, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Last month, the UN and its aid partners launched a $21 million Flash Appeal to feed nearly 600,000 people and provide shelter for more than 210,000 people, including 10,000 children. The funds are also intended to provide back-up power to over 300 health care institutions to ensure that they can continue their life-saving activities.

Due to severe energy rationing, the entire population in Kyrgyzstan receives power for between only six and 14 hours daily, leading to disruptions in critical social services in areas of greatest need.

This has led to alarming new problems, such as a doubling of the monoxide poisoning rate in the capital Bishkek because people are resorting to using unsafe alternative fuels. Additionally, 200,000 children have not been able to attend school due to inadequate heat and electrical supplies.

The country has also been impacted by an 80 per cent surge in gas and electricity prices, leading to a precarious food security situation for some families. One in five households – or 1 million people – is considered food insecure and is at high nutritional and health risk.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has started providing food for 40,000 households in the poorest parts of Kyrgyzstan, but this is only one-third of the total targeted by the Flash Appeal.

For its part, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will distribute 7,500 households with seeds, fodder and veterinary medicine, while the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will support six shelters sheltering over 400 children and two institutions with nearly 400 severely disabled children.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will provide emergency food supplies for all 1,000 refugee and asylum-seeking families registered in Kyrgyzstan.

OCHA stressed that a large majority of needs laid out by the Appeal have not been met, which could allow the suffering of the vulnerable to continue.