UNICEF provides over 12 million Kyrgyz soms of recovery support to Batken Oblast

BISHKEK/BATKEN, February 7, 2023 – UNICEF delivered 80 education and 1,460 family hygiene kits to Batken and Osh oblasts. Also, as part of the recovery plan for the Batken emergency in 2022, UNICEF and partners are promoting awareness of key public health risks related to water, sanitation and hygiene. The total amount of recovery support is over 12 million KGS.

Family hygiene kits – which contain soap, detergent powder, nappies, sanitary pads, towels, washbasins, scoops, and buckets – are being provided to cover the water, hygiene and other needs of up to 7,300 people (1,460 households), including over 4,000 children. The family hygiene kits are distributed to the targeted families (identified by the local administrations) in Batken and Leilek districts of Batken oblast and Chon-Alay district of Osh oblast.

Supporting the education process in Batken oblast, UNICEF handed over 80 education boxes, purchased within UNICEF and USAID funded project, with all educational materials to the Batken district representatives of the Ministry of Education, to be further disseminated among schools and kindergartens.

The project, financed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was initiated after the Disaster Response Coordination Unit launched the Emergency Response Plan for the Batken emergency in September 2022. UNICEF is supporting the Government of Kyrgyzstan with a longer-term recovery and resilience plan for the affected population in border areas of Batken Region. This includes strengthening primary health-care services; procuring essential supplies for the management of childhood diseases and prevention and treatment of diarrhoea, as well as preschool learning and play materials for kindergartens; and capacity-building activities to strengthen local school staff in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery, including post-conflict recovery.