Batken schools used as shelters benefit from renovated water and sanitation facilities with UNICEF support

BISHKEK/BATKEN, 26 May 2023 – UNICEF Representative and the Mayor’s Office of Batken paid a joint visit to five educational institutions, where water and sanitation facilities have been renovated. More than 6,700 children and adolescents benefited from these improvements in Bokonbaev school, Umarov school and Lenin school, Lyceum 57 and the Batken State University college. All these institutions served as temporary shelters for internally displaced people following the Kyrgyz-Tajik border clashes in September 2022. The total cost of the support is over US$45,000.

As a result of this partnership with the Batken Mayor’s Office, the water supply systems were improved in Lenin School and Lyceum 56; additional wash points and garbage containers were installed in all of the schools, and other sanitation work and materials were provided, including 9,000 litres of liquid soap. Also, in cooperation with local partners, a series of awareness-raising sessions were conducted among children, adolescents, and their parents on the importance of safe drinking water, regular hygiene practices and public cleaning days around these schools, with the participation of representatives of the Presidential Plenipotentiary Office in Batken province.

In Batken Family Medicine Centre, Christine Jaulmes, UNICEF Representative in Kyrgyzstan, handed over micronutrients, such as iron and folic acid, to be distributed among children and mothers in Batken oblast. This follows the previous handover of medical kits and sterilization kits to be used by primary health centres.

UNICEF remains committed to support the Government of Kyrgyzstan with a longer-term recovery and resilience plan for the affected population in border areas of Batken Region.