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USAID Information:
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Tajikistan
The Development Challenge
The continuing instability in Afghanistan and the ongoing war on terrorism have spotlighted Tajikistan as a key U.S. ally in this isolated region of the world. Long noted as the poorest country to gain independence of the former Soviet Union, Tajikistan is using increased donor assistance to address the most pressing needs of its people. While economic growth in 2002 was 9.1% and has held steady at 7.9% for the first 10 months of 2003, 83% of the population still lives below the poverty line, with 18.6% of the urban and 23.4% of the rural population in extreme poverty. A national nutritional survey undertaken this year found that 4.7% of children under five years of age suffer from acute malnutrition and that 36.2% are affected by chronic malnutrition. Primary school enrollment has slipped to 88.4% overall, with girls affected most seriously. The agricultural sector, which employs over 60% of the population, is seriously constrained by the country's deteriorated irrigation infrastructure, a poorly executed program of land privatization, and a lack of quality inputs and financial capital for farmers. Thus far, the government has not been able to establish the rule of law sufficiently to attract the domestic and foreign investment needed to spur economic growth. The situation is worsened by poor public sector salaries and weak government institutions that have fostered a culture of corruption, earning Tajikistan a ranking of 128th out of 133 countries assessed by Transparency International. Narcotics trafficking remains a significant problem, as heroin producers in Afghanistan use Tajikistan as a primary transit route for exports to Russia and Europe. Neighboring Uzbekistan continues to severely restrict movement across its border, effectively shutting off much of Tajikistan's international trade. The country is also heavily burdened by a crushing external debt of almost $1.05 billion, or 78% of GDP, owed mostly to Russia and Uzbekistan. Despite the problems it faces, the Government of Tajikistan (GOT) has been energized by increased support from the donor community and is moving on a broad front to complete the transition to a market economy and meet social sector needs. This includes legislative and regulatory reforms in the areas of banking supervision, tax administration, commercial law, and the judiciary needed to improve the quality and honesty of governance and fight corruption. The Government is also increasing public spending on health and education and is making fundamental reforms in how these services are provided and financed.
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The USAID program directly supports the GOT's reform agenda. It advances U.S. national interests to stem drug trafficking and promote political and social stability through democratic and economic reform, improved quality of life, and enhanced productive capacity of the Tajik people.
The USAID Program: The Program Data Sheets provided below cover seven strategic objectives for which USAID is requesting funds. These seven objectives promote reforms and training that foster the growth of small and medium enterprises, promote civil society and expand access to information, improve primary health care and prevent infectious disease, encourage better use of the region's water and energy resources, improve primary education, and mitigate or prevent conflict. The design of this program is effectively building both public and private capacity to develop and implement public policies and reforms, particularly in the area of economic reform and regional trade, as well as at the local level where we are re-establishing links between communities and local government. Such efforts are critical to our success in a country where neither businesses and communities nor government structures are accustomed to working together to address development needs. FY 2004 funds will be used to implement the program as currently planned and previously described in the FY 2004 Congressional Budget Justification, including cross-cutting objectives in youth, gender, anti-corruption, and rule of law. The specific activities to be funded by FY 2004 and FY 2005 appropriations are described in more detail in the following Program Data Sheets.
USAID expanded new activities in Tajikistan, including: fiscal reform, banking supervision, microfinance development, World Trade Organization (WTO) accession activities, customs reforms, identification and removal of investment constraints, restoration of primary irrigation infrastructure, and civic education; and initiated new activities relating to local government, maternal and child health/reproductive health, drug demand reduction, and basic education.
Other Program Elements: With funding from USAID's Child Survival Matching Grant program, a very successful primary and reproductive health care activity is continuing in the isolated and under-served Penjikent District, which is cut off from the rest of Tajikistan by the closed Uzbekistan border to the east and mountain passes to the north and south that are closed six months per year. USAID's Office of Food for Peace has provided essential support for the World Food Program's school feeding and other vulnerable group feeding programs using P.L. 480 Title II resources. The Farmer-to-Farmer Program, also financed through P.L. 480 and managed by USAID's Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade, has actively supported agriculture-related SME development efforts in Tajikistan. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance is also undertaking a new regional earthquake preparedness project that will target Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Almaty, Kazakhstan; and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Departments of Commerce, Defense, Agriculture, and State also manage programs complementary to USAID field activities in various sectors.
Other Donors: The U.S. Government is the largest bilateral donor, providing assistance through USAID, the State Department, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and others. The second largest bilateral donor is Japan, which provides assistance for rehabilitation of the agricultural sector, and food security and poverty reduction programs through international NGOs. The European Union has re-established its Technical Assistance for the Commonwealth of Independent States as well as a new Food Security program. These programs complement the European Union's continuing humanitarian assistance program funded through the European Community Humanitarian Office. Other bilateral donors include Switzerland, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The long-established Swiss program is closely coordinated with the USAID effort, particularly in the areas of regional water programs, WTO accession, and judicial reform. Similarly, USAID has worked in close partnership with the newly arrived Swedes and Canadians to ensure close coordination as they design their programs. The largest non-state donor is the Aga Khan Development Network which supports a number of economic development activities throughout the country. Multilateral donors include the World Bank (health reform and private sector development), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (social service sector rehabilitation, transportation, irrigation, and hydroelectric generation), Islamic Development Bank (road construction, energy sector rehabilitation, and school and irrigation rehabilitation), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (telecommunications, airport navigation, and microfinance). USAID works closely with the ADB and the World Bank in a number of areas, but particularly in microfinance, irrigation rehabilitation, health care reform, and basic education.
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