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In this issue:

BATKEN AND SOUTH KYRGYZSTAN

• Preventive Development in the South of Kyrgyzstan

HEALTH CARE

• AIDS prevention in Kyrgyz prisons
• A set of seminars conducted by the UNFPA

GENDER IN DEVELOPMENT

• UNDP and Soros Foundation collaborate to promote gender through media in Kyrgyzstan

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

• UNDP and Soros Foundation collaborate to promote gender through media in Kyrgyzstan

SUPPORT TO PARLIAMENT

• Round table "Strategy for Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan and Co-operation between UNDP and

SUPPORT TO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

• Up-date of UNDP SME project activities

BATKEN AND SOUTH KYRGYZSTAN

Preventive Development in the South of Kyrgyzstan. The second meeting of Preventive Development Forum was held in Batken under the chairmanship of the Governor of Batken Mr. Mamat Aibalaev. The 38 officials representing donor's organization and project working in the South, INGO, NGO and rayon level state administrator and head of pilot Aiyl Okmotus attended the meeting.

The forum was established in the year 2000 as an institutional mechanism to create a forum for exchanging of experiences and information as well as to support the Oblast administration to coordinate the activities of all the development, humanitarian and research organizations present in the South in general and Batken Oblast in particular. The forum also aims to provide an opportunity to establish good linkages between the development partners and local administration and authorities.

During the forum, the representatives from UNDP and UNDP Projects on Preventive Development and Poverty Alleviation, OSCE, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, Mercy Corps, Acted, UNHCR, WHO, UNOPS (Tadjikstan), International Crisis Group, Kyrgyz Red cross, Foundation for Tolerance International and UN Liaison presented the activities being carried out and progress made by each organization. Similarly, the Akims of three rayons and Head of five Aiyl okmotu presented the development activities being implemented in partnership with INGO and NGOs and emerging problems in the respective villages. The participants of the forum also visited Chek village of Dara AO to observe the drinking water project being initiated by the Community Based Organization with the support of Preventive Development Project (please refer UN Link issue 126 for details of the drinking water project).

During the presentation and discussions one of the major problems identified as factors that may need immediate attention to prevent possible conflicts in the areas is as follows;

Until 1996, about 5000 inhabitants of Uch Korgon AO (Batken) used to work at Kyzyl Kiya and Kuvasai plants and factories in Uzbekistan. Those employed at Kyzyl Kiya industries lost their jobs when most of these factories closed and those working in Kuvasai were dismissed because of their Kyrgyz citizenship. Upon their return to Uch Korgon, these people found out that during the distribution of land in 1994, they had not been allocated land plots. Land is the main and often the only source of income for local people. Unavailability of land made these people unemployed and people's discontent is growing. One of the ways of solving the problems is by completing the construction of 14.5 km canal in the territory of Uch-Korgon, Kara-Kyshtak-Boz (of which 13 km has already been completed) that would help to reclaim 1300 hectares of land of which 600 hectares will be irrigated for cultivation and can be distributed to these 5000 citizens of Kyrgyzstan. The Chairperson of the Forum and the Vice-President of Congress of Local Communities (the executing Agency of Preventive Development Projects in the South) agreed to officially informing this issue to the government and respective donor for their support in the completion of the canal.

The meeting concluded with the vote of thanks from the Governor to all the participants and announced that the next meting of the forum will be held in May.

Contact: Kalyan Pandey, CTA, Preventive Development Project in the South, email Phone (996 312) 66 00 80 Or The Preventive Development Center in Batken. Phone (996 3622) 361.44 or 360.29. E-mail: You can find more information on UNDP's Preventive Development in the South of Kyrgyzstan project on the project's website at http://www.pdsouth.elcat.kg/ and on UNDP's homepage at http://www.undp.kg/ (click 'UNDP Programs').

HEALTH CARE

On 14 February 2001, UNDP AIDS Project organized a special meeting chaired by Colonel Vladimir Nosov, Head of Prison Management, Ministry of Interior (MI) with the heads of the main subdivisions of the Main Penitentiary Department and directors of prisons. The aim of the meeting was to strengthen the prevention of HIV-infection epidemic in the penitentiary system of the Kyrgyz Republic. The meeting was dedicated to the improvement of HIV/AIDS/STD prevention issues, objectives of the penitentiary system in this field, support of National AIDS Programme, and to further expansion and development of the HIV/AIDS prevention project in the penitentiary system. The prison directors and other officials of the penitentiary system are concerned about the danger of HIV/AIDS spread in prisons, and expressed their desire to fully support and implement prevention measures in penitentiary establishments. As a result of the meeting, they signed a Resolution, which describes existing problem and determines drastic measures on the organization of prevention activities among personnel and convicts in the penitentiary system of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Within the UNDP AIDS Project, a special project on HIV-prevention among convicts has been going on in Bishkek penal colony # 47 since 1998. It is executed by the Main Penitentiary Department of MI, and introduces training programs on safe sex behavior, HIV/AIDS testing and counseling; offers education on tolerance towards HIV infected and AIDS patients.

The initiative group consisting of MI experts and medical staff, as well as an initiative group of convicts participate in seminars and is working at changing the attitudes of the personnel towards the implementation of preventive programmes and for encouraging safe behavior among special contingent. Five convicts received training to introduce peer education in the establishment and worked on creation of informative materials and souvenirs about HIV/AIDS prevention. They also prepared one poster and 3 booklets and prepared safety bags for returned convicts. The latter is a bag with a clean syringe, a needle, a condom, and instructions how to contact the center for anonymous HIV-test.

As part of the preventive measures, containers with disinfecting solution, being constantly refreshed, were placed on accessible locations for convicts. According to observation, the convicts do use this disinfecting liquid which proves the success of this measures.

At present, convicts are considered to be a main vulnerable group in terms of HIV/AIDS spread. Worldwide experience in this field speaks for itself. HIV epidemic has already started in institutions of confinement in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. So far six out of fourteen local HIV-infected cases registered in Kyrgyzstan, were exposed among convicts.

Contact: Mrs. Larissa Bashmakova, National Project Manager, tel./fax: (996 312) 66-36-91, tel.: (996 312) 22-03-84, e-mail:

UNFPA FO in Kyrgyzstan initiated seminars for Social Patronage System workers, family Group Practitioners, representatives of the Ministry of Health, Family and Marriage Guidance Center, Center of Human Reproduction and representatives of National AIDS Center with participation of Mr. P. M. Brandt, CST specialist on RH-LMIS. The seminars were held on 5-7 February 2001.

In recent years, UNFPA virtually supplied Kyrgyzstan with 100 percent of the needed contraceptives in the public sector. In the past two years, however, UNFPA has experienced unanticipated budget cuts, resulting in extended periods when clinics and hospitals have had total stock-outs of contraceptives. This year, UNFPA is only able to supply 16-17% of the country's needs and in the first few months of 2001 the stock-outs will become virtually universal. Due to the insufficiency of contraceptives there is a crucial need for appropriate distribution and use of the available contraceptives in the country.

The newly introduced Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) will allow to register the contraceptives procured by UNFPA and further follow-up their distribution and use in order to avoid leakage of humanitarian aid. In the future, it is planned to make detailed estimates of the country's annual needs of contraceptive based on reports submitted by the LMIS. The system will make the future contraceptive procurement more reasonable and will make it able to meet the needs of the population not only considering the amount of contraceptives, but also the types of contraceptives used in various regions of the country.

At the moment UNFPA plans activities for logistics managers in the oblasts of Kyrgyzstan, aiming to fulfill the recommendations made during the seminars on 5-7 February 2001.

Contact: Mr. Alexander Ilyin, UNFPA Programme Officer. Chuikova Street 90, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Tel.: (996 312) 66-22-21. E-mail: You can find more information on UNFPA activity in Kyrgyzstan on the agency's website at http://www.unfpa.org.kg/

GENDER IN DEVELOPMENT

UNDP and Soros Foundation collaborate to promote gender through media in Kyrgyzstan. Both the UNDP Gender in Development Bureau and the Soros Foundation - Kyrgyzstan have been doing a lot to promote gender and improve women's status in Kyrgyzstan. Partially it's been achieved through co-operation with local mass media outlets. Media was recognised to be a good and far-reaching tool to advocate the relatively new gender concept in Kyrgyzstan.

By today the UNDP GID Bureau, that implements the "Promoting Women in Leadership" project, has already undertaken some activities: in its first phase it subcontracted several printed and electronic media outlets to produce gender-related products within its media component with objective to raise public awareness on gender issues and increase gender sensitive media coverage in the republic.

On the Donors' gender coordination meetings and thanks to efficient bilateral operational information exchange it was revealed that the Soros Foundation - Kyrgyzstan had planned to start the Mass Media & Gender Policy project through providing gender and media training to journalists with the objective to increase their capacity to produce gender awareness raising materials. To better co-ordinate their efforts in advocating gender and not duplicate each other's activities the UNDP GID Bureau and the Soros Foundation - Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on mutual partnership in the Gender and Mass media in Kyrgyzstan.

As a result, by joint efforts 5 journalists were sent to participate at the regional "Women & Mass Media" training in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in October 2000. In the end of October two Russian experts: Nadezhda Azhgikhina from "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" (Independent newspaper) and Svetlana Svistunova from "TVZ" (Russian TV channel) were invited to provide Gender & Media training to 18 local journalists. As a follow-up to the training, a media contest for the best media product with gender sensitive coverage is anticipated in February this year. Combination of time-proved experience of the Soros Foundation in working with media and gender capacity of the UNDP GID Bureau resulted in a smooth and efficient co-operation of two donors aiming one goal - to thoroughly promote the concept of gender in Kyrgyzstan.

Contact: Nazim Turdumambetov, UNDP GID Bureau Public Information Officer, Pushkin str., 78, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, tel.: +996(312) 66-38-85, fax: +996(312) 66-05-20, e-mail:

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

Update on Counterpart Consortium/USAID/UNHCR/EU-Supported NGO activities. Civil Society support Center, Karakol: Volunteers of the NGO Leader started to conduct a large- scale survey to asses needs of young people in the field of sex education. The survey is conducted on February 9-25 under the project of the International Federation of Family Planning. It is supposed to survey two thousand young people who are 15-24 years old republic wide. 40 interviewers (school and college students, teachers, health workers, NGO representatives and unemployed) have been conducting a survey. Based on the survey results, the NGO in collaboration with international donor organizations plans to address the needs of the youth in the area of reproductive health and rights.

Civil Society Support Center, Kara-Balta. III Kurultay (Assembly) of Local Communities in Kara-Balta. On February 15, 2001 the III Kurultai of Local Communities was held in the Lenin's Center in Kara-Balta. Almost 400 citizens participated in the meeting including senior citizens, World War II veterans, workers and employees of local enterprises, businessmen, representatives of local governmental agencies, mass media and NGO community. The agenda included issues such as:

• Report of local self -governance of Kara-Balta for the year of 2000
• A draft of social and economic development of Kara-Balta for the year 2001
• Amendments and changes to the Charter of Kara-Balta that have been proposed in line with the Governmental Decree about delegating authorities to local self-governance bodies.

The mayor of the town reported on the work done in 2000 and emphasized in his speech that the general public is well aware about activities perused by the NGO community in the region but they are not well coordinated and NGOs do not inform well about what they are doing. On a preparatory stage the Kurultai organizers drafted a plan of social and economic development for Kara-Balta in 2001 and amendments to the Charter. As a result of the meeting it was decided to approve a drafted plan and changes/amendments to the Charter.

NGO and Community Workshop. On February 13-14, a two-day training NGO and Community was held in the village of Belovodsk. The workshop was attended by 22 people representing local NGOs (16 participants) and initiative groups (6 participants). The workshop was held y local contract trainers from NGOs Oi-Kaiyn and Jez-Oimok. During two-day training the participants analyzed NGO relationship with the elements of the environment, studied the place and role of NGOs in a democratic and civil society as well as discussed other issues such as: a) the role of NGOs in national and international development; b) NGO mission and clients; c) NGO values; d) NGO sustainable development. The training workshop was held under the training program of Counterpart Consortium funded through USAID.

In order to ensure participation of the NGO community in the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) and National Strategy on Poverty Alleviation (NSPA) to a fuller extent Counterpart Consortium through funding provide by the World Bank conducted 8 round tables on a regional level. The round tables were held in collaboration with the Civil Society Support Centers on February 15-16. On February 13 the round table was held in Osh, on February 15 it was held in Naryn, Karakol, Kara-Balta (17 participants, Jalal-Abad Talas, Batken, Bishkek in the building of International University of Kyrgyzstan (30 participants) and training room of Counterpart Consortium (12 participants). The purpose of the round table is to design forms and mechanisms of participation and partnership of the civil society with other sectors in CDF and NSPA. At the round tables the participants design a matrix of partnership that describes the role, resources and expectations of all partners in implementation and monitoring of CDF/NSPA.

Other objectives of round tables envisaged:

• to define an integrated contribution of NGOs in implementation of CDF and NSPA (based on recommendations and suggestions made at round tables on local and regional levels)
• to design mechanisms and forms of participation of the NGO community and other sectors of society in the implementation of CDF and NSPA
• to define additional measures to implement programs in collaboration with nonprofit organizations
• collect comments on CDF and NSPA proposals.

Contact: Counterpart Consortium, Lilia Kuchenova, IU/AUK Program Coordinator, Information Coordinator of NGO, 107 Kievskaya str., 5th floor, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Phone: 996(312) 610 135, 610 022, 664 636 Fax: 996(312) 610 021 Email: Internet: http://www.cango.net.kg/

SUPPORT TO PARLIAMENT

Parliamentary development strategy and co-operation with UNDP discussed. On February 16, the UNDP project "Support to Parliament" organized a round table on the theme "Strategy for Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan and Co-operation between UNDP and Jogorku Kenesh". The participants of the round table were Mr. Y. Misnikov, UNDP Resident Representative a.i., Mr. A. Erkebaev, Legislative Assembly Speaker, Mr. S. Jeenbekov, People's Assembly Deputy Speaker, Mr. B. Kenenbaev, Deputy Head of the President's Office, Mr. M. Chungong, IPU representative, chairs of parliamentary committees, parliamentary staff management, representatives of President and the Government to both Houses of the Jogorku Kenesh, and representatives of NGOs, mass media and international donor community in Kyrgyzstan. This event fitted into a series of event to discuss public administration and civil service reform, elaboration of the Comprehensive Development Framework in Kyrgyzstan and development of relations between the emerging civil society and government. The round table was preceded by a November 2000 mission of Mr. S. Sirotkin, International Consultant on Human Rights and Parliamentary Affairs RBEC, whose report with findings and recommendations on further development of the capacity of the Jogorku Kenesh was distributed among the participants. The keynote speakers agreed with the main provisions of Mr. Sirotkin's report on the need to streamline the parliamentary structures and services in Jogorku Kenesh to achieve greater efficiency, and strengthen relations with the constituents and civil society organizations. In his presentation to the round table participants Mr. Sirotkin gave a rationale for his recommendations. The participants stressed the need for the Jogorku Kenesh to use the powers stipulated by the Constitution more effectively, while agreeing on the necessity to expand these powers through a constitutional reform in future. This should bring about a re-alignment of the state powers in Kyrgyzstan and better cohesion in their work. The Round Table recommended Jogorku Kenesh to request UNDP and other international donors for assistance in the elaboration and implementation of the parliamentary development strategy, and to set up a Task Force including representatives of Jogorku Kenesh, UNDP, government, NGOs and other interested international organisations.

Contact: Mr. Alexey Kashpur, National Project Manager, UNDP Kyrgyzstan project to support Parliament. Tel.: (996 312) 66-47-72; Fax: 996 312 66-47-73; E-Mail:

SUPPORT TO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Up-date of the UNDP SME project activity - Tajik SME Colleagues Paid Visit to Kyrgyzstan. After the UNIDO HQ request, a group of governmental officials representing the Tajik Agency for Support and Development of Small Entrepreneurship headed by its Director Mr. Davron Yuldashev visited Kyrgyzstan on 16-23 December 2000. Since the Tajik authorities and UNIDO HQ are planning to open a project similar to the Kyrgyz SME Project of UNDP, the issues of SME support in developed countries, structure and dynamics of the SME development in Kyrgyzstan were subjects of particular interest. Tajik officials also became familiar with the structure of business education system and organization of training courses, various methodology of workshops on SME, SME-related legal and regulatory documents, basics of business consulting and business planning, structure of business plans, marketing, financial and technical analysis. The officials also visited several enterprises, established with assistance of the Bishkek SBDC business counselors, got acquainted with the activities of the regional SBDCs in Osh and Jalal-Abad. In addition to that they also met Ms. Joldosheva, NPD and Head of the Tourism, Small and Medium Business Development Department of the Prime Minister's Office, Ms. K. Kenenbaeva, Chairperson of the State Fund for SME support, as well as heads of Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bishkek, Osh and Jalal-Abad oblasts.

By the end of 2000 the CTA of the Project from the very beginning Dr. Wojciech Hubner left the project and was nominated as the Director of Business Advisory Center of Pragma Corporation (USAID) Project "Small & Medium Enterprise Development for the Central Asian Republics". He started his activities in the new quality from the First January 2001. There is a preliminary agreement on cooperation between UNDP SME and Pragma Corporation Projects.

SME Project staff has prepared some recommendations and proposals to be included into National Strategy for Poverty Alleviation (NSPA) and CDF (Comprehensive Development Framework) papers related to the role of SME in the achievement of the main goal of these extremely important for Kyrgyzstan programs. Several important recommendations have been proposed to the working group connected with the point 3.1.4. "Taxation system" of the division 3.1. "State management" of the part 3. "Active institutional reforms/effective management"; with the division 3.4. "Development of standard-legislative base" and with point 4.3.1. "Poverty alleviation" of the division 4.3. "Investment policy" of the part 4. "Promotion of the sustainable economic growth".

Donor's Forum, initiated by the SME Project, has proposed to the Government of Kyrgyzstan the setting up of a single co-ordination center. It can replace other central institutions in their policy making function and protect business community from initiatives by other Government organizations, which may be not in line with current SME policy and/or may be fettering entrepreneurial initiative.

On 15-16th of January business counselors Dr. B. Utirov and Mr. A. Davydov attended the Conference for Volunteers, organized by the United States Peace Corps in the Kyrgyz Republic and were the guest speakers on topics related to SME development in the country. The project manager Ms. Z. Sydykova and business counselor B. Dyikanov were guest speakers at the seminars organized by the Soros Foundation in Issyk-Kul oblast on 4-5 and 14-15th February for representatives of Ayil Okmotu (local authorities).

Contact: Mr. Bolot Utirov, Senior Business Counselor for UNDP Technical Assistance to SME Development in Kyrgyzstan, 57 Erkindik Boulevard, rooms 29,30 Bishkek 720000, Kyrgyzstan. Tel.: (996 312) 66-22-86. Fax: (996 312) 66-23-41. Email: