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WFP Kyrgyz Republic Country Brief, December 2020

Countries
Kyrgyzstan
Sources
WFP
Publication date

In Numbers

123,200 people assisted in December 2020

1662.6 mt of food assistance distributed

US$ 160,600 cash-based transfers made

Operational Updates

• Due to the COVID-19 situation, in view of the online learning modality and at the request of the Ministry of Education and Science in December, WFP supported the Optimized School Meals Programme by reaching more than 61,500 schoolchildren through take-home rations.

• WFP jointly with local governmental authorities finalized the rehabilitation of the school canteens and the delivery of modern kitchen equipment to the 89 schools of the eighth round that are now fully equipped to launch school feeding in January 2021.

• In December, the pre-programme technical engineering assessment of the ninth round of schools was completed. The results of the assessment will be used to prepare the schools to launch school feeding in September 2021.

• In December, WFP delivered 555 mt of food to various rural and remote locations to support low-income families as a compensation for their participation in community development project activities and capacity strengthening training sessions. The food distribution will help more than 2,400 vulnerable families to survive the traditionally harsh winter and the upcoming lean season. This food, a generous contribution from the Russian Federation, is very important for the food security of the country in light of the overall COVID19-related deterioration of the country’s economic situation, including high inflation, unemployment (14 percent), a reduction in remittances, and the closure of businesses (-29 percent).

• In December, WFP successfully launched the disbursement of cash-based transfers (CBT) among vulnerable families under the Strategic Outcome 5 (Emergency support and early recovery), which was introduced as a response to the COVID19 crisis and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development (MLSD) and the local authorities. Around 8,306 food insecure families (4,278 men and 4,028 women participants) received their cash entitlements to support their food security as compensation for their participation in WFP projects. This Programme targets the ‘new poor’ in urban and peri-urban locations who were mainly working in the informal economy highly affected by the COVID19 pandemic.

• The constitutional referendum on choosing the form of governance and early elections of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic were held on 10 January 2021. The epidemiological situation in the country is slowly improving with less than 200 cases of COVID-19 registered every day.