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"USAID helped us rise to our feet ….” Kurmangazy Beg-Ali, Director and Chief Physician of the Akshi Tuberculosis Clinic. In the photo: Dr. Beg-Ali with a young girl from the Center for Children of Tuberculosis Patients at the Akshi Clinic. The center provides a temporary home for the children of tuberculosis patients while their parents undergo medical treatment in hospitals. After attending USAID-sponsored training on fundraising for health NGOs, Doctor Beg-Ali was able to secure additional funding from the local Akimat to support the center.
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Peer to peer education Over 30,000 young people in the country who are at greater risk of HIV and drug use have received information during USAID-sponsored trainings, mini-sessions and outreach on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections and the availability of voluntary counseling, testing, and treatment. USAID’s projects are working closely with the Kazakh Ministry of Health, national and oblast AIDS centers, WHO, and other organizations to help Kazakhstan to combat HIV/AIDS.
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Doctors at a USAID-sponsored training USAID is working with the Ministry of Health to revise national clinical practice guidelines on health services to meet international standards. Primary health care doctors are being trained in family medicine, and small groups from academic institutions are being prepared as family medicine teachers for medical and nursing schools. Short courses are being conducted on priority health topics, particularly family planning, and integrated management of childhood.
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TB Program Saves Lives Over the past eleven years, USAID’s TB programs have helped to save 22,000 Kazakh lives. USAID has been assisting the Government of Kazakhstan to fight tuberculosis by supporting the implementation of a new TB treatment strategy since 1997. USAID and its partner organizations have opened ten TB training centers, have trained more than 6,000 medical specialists, and have helped create a national surveillance system to track TB cases.
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Mother and Baby With USAID support Kazakhstan adopts the international Live Birth Definition, which recognizes all newborns weighing 500 grams and with 22 weeks of gestation as births. In 2008, the Government of Kazakhstan began nationwide registration of newborns according to the live birth criteria, recommended by the World Health Organization. This will enable Kazakhstan to improve medical interventions to reduce infant mortality.
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Birth Preparedness Schools In 2006 and 2007 three Birth Preparedness Schools were opened in Astana by the “Partnership for Healthy Motherhood-Future of Astana” project, sponsored by USAID and ExxonMobil. The initiative is implemented by USAID’s ZdravPlus project and the Kazakhstan Association of Family Practitioners in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the Akimat and the Astana City Health Department. The model has been replicated at a number of USAID-supported maternity hospitals across the country and has trained thousands of women and their partners.
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ZdravPlus Progam USAID’s ZdravPlus project is helping to improve maternal and child health services in 8 primary health care pilot sites, representing 39% of the country’s population.
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Community Connections Fosters Cooperation In August 2007, the USAID Community Connections Program organized an “Infection control and Blood Safety” study tour in the U.S. for ten medical specialists from Southern Kazakhstan Oblast and the Ministry of Health. The program supported the Government of Kazakhstan’s efforts to improve infection control procedures in Southern Kazakhstan following the 2006 HIV outbreak in Shymkent.
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Alumni career workshop USAID’s Business and Economic Education Project worked with 64 Kazakhstan’s higher education institutions to advance the quality of business and economic education programs and services. It launched pilot programs to facilitate new student and business services at universities in Uralsk, Almaty, Pavlodar, Shimkent, and Ust-Kamenogorsk.
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Recent Graduates of the Eurasian National University Program In 2008, the second batch of students received Master’s in Science degree in Environmental Management and Engineering from the Eurasian National University program. The program was created with assistance from USAID, the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, the AES Corporation, and the University of New Mexico to prepare international-level specialists to address ecological problems in the region.
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Helping Businesses Reach their Full Potential The USAID Business Environment Improvement project works with government and the private sector to improve implementation of business-related legal reforms, streamline administrative processes and promote operational improvements for the benefit of small and medium enterprises in the region. The elimination of excessive licensing requirements has already brought savings for at least 20,000 entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan.
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A Consultation USAID’s Water Users Associations Assistance Program (implemented by Counterpart International) provided organizational, technical and business trainings to 20 Water Users Associations. While agriculture productivity in Kazakhstan increased 8% in 2006, average productivity gains of farmers participating in the USAID program was 26%. In 2006, farmers that received training and technical assistance from USAID increased their harvest in alfalfa, corn, rice, melons, gourds, and grains.
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Electricity Market Powers Up In 2007 USAID’s Central Asia Regional Energy Market Assistance Program (REMAP) helped launch an electric power sales arrangement between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The arrangement has a potential to provide up to 20% of the electrical power that the Southern Kazakhstan region needs every summer.
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Kazakhstan Loan Fund’s client More than 17,000 businesses draw loans from the Kazakhstan Loan Fund, country’s largest microfinance institution. The fund was established in 1997 by a USAID program as country’s first non-bank financial institution. Small loans, averaging $800, provide much-needed credit to these microentrepeneurs and help them extend and diversify their operations.
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Water Project Some 900 hectares of land in Yassy, near Turkestan, became suitable for planting gardens and fruit trees after USAID helped the Yassy community rehabilitate its irrigation system in 2004. With USAID support, the community dredged 7km of irrigation canals and repaired two wells. "When I decided to start my own farm, I bought a garden plot close to the irrigation canal. However, due to poor irrigation, my trees started to dry up,” says Galymzhan Djalilov. "Now I am confident that my garden will survive."
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The Aral Sea Through 2006 USAID and the Israeli International Development Agency MASHAV worked to improve the livelihood of fishermen in the Aral Sea region. USAID and MASHAV provided a refrigerator unit for a processing facility and a refrigerator truck so that fresh fish can now be delivered and kept at the plant in excellent condition year round. This increased the productivity of the factory, improved the quality of the fish coming to the processing plant, and expanded the market by allowing frozen products to be delivered to more distant areas.
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Financial Reform USAID has contributed significantly to the financial sector reform in Kazakhstan. USAID supported the introduction of corporate bonds, mortgage bonds, warehouse receipts, and other investment vehicles. The corporate bond market, introduced in 2000, has grown to $2 billion in bonds in circulation. Mortgage-backed securities, introduced in 2002, now comprise $300 million in outstanding mortgage bonds. Recently, USAID helped seven commercial banks establish the first credit bureau in Kazakhstan to strengthen country’s financial sector and provide finance for citizens and entrepreneurs.
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Farmers Through its Farmer-to-Farmer program USAID supports three major agribusiness sectors in Kazakhstan – dairy, beef, and field crops. Farmer to Farmer volunteer efforts focus on genetic improvement, feeding, and general management. The importation of U.S. genetics has also been a tremendous success.
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CAMFA Makes Loans a Reality To help extend loans for small entrepreneurs, USAID’s Central Asia Microfinance Alliance (CAMFA) program provides technical assistance and training to non-government organizations microfinance institutions to support their growth, development, and expansion. CAMFA helped the Kazakhstan Loan Fund to establish new branches (Turkistan, Taraz, and Astana) and supports the Public Fund West Public Fund Damu (Uralsk) and the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Kazakhstan (Almaty).
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Junior Achievement’s economics competition . USAID supported Junior Achievement in Kazakhstan from 1994, when Junior Achievement opened its operations in the country. By 2008, Junior Achievement has trained over 230,000 Kazakh students in economics and entrepreneurship. Its materials have been endorsed by the Ministry of Education and Science for use in Kazakhstan’s classrooms.
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Boys in Aral From 1994-1996, USAID helped rehabilitate 29 water wells at the Berdykol and Kosaman well fields in the Arals Sea disaster zone. New water pumps and electric motors were installed along the Aral-Sarabulak water transmission pipeline. These renovated facilities now provide water an estimated 800,000 people to Aralsk and Novokazalinsk.
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An EDP Recipient From 2002 to 2006, USAID’s Enterprise Development Project advanced the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises by consulting companies in the areas of strategic planning, marketing, finance, operations, and trade promotion. Through six Enterprise Development Centers (Almaty, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Pavlodar, Uralsk, Atyrau, and Astana), the USAID project served over 900 businesses. On average, assisted companies have increased their sales by 31%, with a productivity increase of 22%.
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Video-recording pilot at the Bostandyk District Court in Almaty During a 12-month pilot at the Bostandyk District Court, USAID’s Kazakhstan Judicial Assistance Project tested a high-tech video-recording system that thoroughly and accurately captures all aspects of a court case and provides a verbatim record. Through this pilot, USAID is introducing the novel concept of video court recording into Kazakhstan’s judicial procedure to increase its transparency and accountability.
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Assistance to the Blind Through the Eurasia Foundation, USAID has been supporting an association of the blind. Funded by USAID grants, the Eurasia Foundation implements demand-driven, grass roots programs related to private enterprise, civil society, public administration, and education.
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Civil Society Support Program To strengthen local non-governmental organizations, USAID’s Civil Society Support Program provided training, information, networking opportunities, and professional assistance through a network of eight civil society support centers in Almaty, Atyrau, Aktyubinsk, Kustanai, Astana, Karaganda, Semipalatinsk, and Ust-Kamenogorsk. The program distributed grants to leading NGOs in specific sectors, sponsored programs to engage communities in local issues, and promoted social partnerships.
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A Teacher Taking Notes A teacher takes notes at the training organized by the USAID Civic Education Program, implemented by IFES. The six-year program trained 1500 teachers to conduct civic education classes using interactive methodologies. The civic education program for 9th, 10th, and 11th grades is now taught in nearly 700 schools in all 14 oblasts of Kazakhstan, using a textbook, developed with support from USAID.
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My house will have running water! Through 2004 USAID facilitated 70 community-driven Examples of our work, benefiting nearly a quarter million residents. The projects have helped a broad spectrum of community members, providing more than 4,300 jobs and improving infrastructure and services in sanitation, health, and education.
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Students work at a government office during the Student Local Government Day More than 500 schools and nearly a thousand officials participated in Student Local Government Days, organized by the USAID Civic Education Program (implemented by IFES) with support from the Ministry of Education and Science. By working alongside their local officials, Kazakhstani youth learned about the role of their government.
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Electronic Media Seminars and Workshops In 2006, seven private Kazakhstani media outlets received production grants from USAID and 130 print and electronic media professionals were trained via seminars and workshops. Nine broadcast media and two print media outlets benefited from on-site residencies. USAID’s media assistance program also supported individual legal consultations to journalists and NGOs.
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Mock Trial A USAID-sponsored mock trial educates Kazakhstani TV audiences about jury trials, which were introduced in the country since 2007. The mock-trial was arranged by the USAID Judicial Assistance project and ABA/ROLI.
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Trafficking in Persons USAID supported efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in persons and to protect victims trafficked from, to, through, and within Kazakhstan and the region. The assistance focused on support and capacity building of crisis centers, hotlines and shelters, including preventative and rehabilitative vocational training for targeted vulnerable groups and the general population.
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Reading Days “Reading Days help us to bring books back into our children’s lives,” says teacher Nina Golopyatova, one of the Reading Day organizers from the town of Kokshetau. With USAID support, the Kazakhstan Reading Association sponsored 40 reading days in local and school libraries of all oblasts Kazakhstan and some rural places, such as Lenger, Aralsk, and Arkalyk.
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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony The United States Agency for International Development:over $500 million from the American people since 1992 for economic growth, health care, and democratic institutions of Kazakhstan.
USAID in Kazakhstan
USAID began providing assistance to Kazakhstan in 1992, soon after the country became independent. Since that time, the American people through USAID have provided over $500 million in programs that assist the development of the country’s economic sector, healthcare system, and democratic institutions. USAID programs cooperate with ministries, governmental and non-government organizations, businesses, and communities to improve laws, create jobs, increase incomes, improve services, and better manage available resources.
During the first years of work in, USAID helped strengthen the banking sector and create ’s stock market, supported privatization, helped introduce health family practices, and assisted in the implementation of such health initiatives as national immunization for polio eradication. More recently, USAID has focused its assistance to support diversification of the country’s economy, increase access to information, and improve prevention of infectious diseases, such as TB or HIV/AIDS.
USAID operates under a bilateral agreement with the Government of Kazakhstan, and is the largest single-country donor organization in. USAID programs in are implemented through contracts and grants by nearly 40 local and international organizations, including U.N. agencies, for profit companies, and non-governmental organizations.
| Kazakhstan Brochure |
Calendar 2009 |
Factsheet: USAID Programs |
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