DISASTER RESPONSE COORDINATION UNIT : COVID-19 response

Weekly situation update Date: 24 April 2020

This update is issued by the DRCU and summarizes current situation, DRCU and other partners’ support to the response effort for the period of 17-24 April 2020. Key statistics As of 24 April 2020 Total cases 700 Total number of 656 656 confirmed cases of 600 COVID-19 554 500 The number of new 25 419 cases from total 400 300 The number of human 8 216 losses 200 147 100 The number of 322 0 recovered cases 17-Mar 24-Mar 31-Mar 7-Apr 14-Apr 21-Apr

On 18 March 2020 the first three cases were recorded in the Kyrgyz Republic that were detected among those, who returned from Umra pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Kyrgyzstan’s Age group Number % from Security Council recommended the state of emergency on 22 March, total and the Government subsequently imposed stricter measures, placing checkpoints in every region and city, and shutting down Under 15 75 11.4 facilities (cafes, cinemas, shopping malls, and other entertainment From 16 to 19 18 2.7 places), leaving only grocery stores, food markets, pharmacies, and medical facilities. From 20 to 35 179 27.3 From 35 to 55 On 14 April based on the Decrees of the President of the Kyrgyz 239 36.4 Republic, the state of emergency in , , Jalal-Abad cities Above 55 145 22.1 and Kara-Suu, Nookat districts of Osh oblast, district of Jalal- Abad oblast has been extended until 30 April 2020. In addition, a state of emergency was introduced in and At- Bashy districts of Naryn oblast from 15 to 30 April 2020. As of 24 April, 656 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Kyrgyz Republic and 8 deaths. According to Ministry of Health, among the confirmed cases, 302 are male (46%) and 354 are female (54%). Please also see in the table age disaggregation among the confirmed cases. The number of contact persons is 2548. There are 914 people in the observation in Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan, as of 24 April, 172 medical staff were infected.

Disaster Response Coordination Unit COVID-19

Priority sectors Required Received % of funding (USD) (USD) PROGRESS -19 % Health 15,800,000 3,278,8851 20.75%

Food security 13,429,000 4,449,000 33.13% and Logistics 19% WASH and NFI 1,400,000 67,000 4.78%

Protection 1,187,000 607,000 51.14%

Education 626,600 341,600 54.52%

Early Recovery 18,864,000 1,004,000 5.32% 81%

Total 51,306,600 9,667,485 19%

During the reporting period according National Shtab information below assistance was provided by Government and via bilateral channels.

Government assistance • As of April 24, 2020, the MoES continues disinfection. The MoES has prepared more than 11,961 hospital beds. Across the country, 120 tents and 56 mobile homes were installed at sanitary and quarantine posts and checkpoints of the Ministry of Emergencies. Citizens accommodated in the observation are provided with 3 meals a day. In total, more than 838 employees of the Ministry of Emergencies and 75 pieces of equipment are involved. • By the decision of the Government, 122 million KGS (1,525,000 USD) to support vulnerable populations are being allocated. On April 21, 2020, 393 thousand applications for humanitarian aid were received, 225 thousand of them were satisfied. • In , 500 low-income families were given one pack of flour each. Total 825 thousand KGS (10,312 USD) were allocated from local budget. • In all oblasts of the country centers for assisting abused children are functioning. District / city departments of labor and social development organize work on remote provision of psychological assistance to children and their parents during an emergency. • The Government allocated 800 million KGS (10 million USD) for the purchase of flour and wheat within the framework of the project “Financing of Agriculture-8”. As of April 22, 230 million KGS (2.875 million USD) were used. • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, together with the UAE aviation authorities, is considering the organization of the Dubai-Bishkek flight for Kyrgyz citizens on 26 April 2020. • As a result of the agreements reached, the government structures of Kyrgyzstan and Turkey are planning to carry out a charter route Istanbul-Bishkek on 24 April 2020. • 32 Kyrgyz citizens from Indonesia (Bali), Thailand (Bangkok) and Vietnam (Hanoi) were returned. • Please see below accumulated cash assistance to Ministries accounts as of 24 April 2020.

Received to date Name of Ministry Spent to date (KGS) Balance (KGS) (KGS)

Ministry of Health of Kyrgyz Republic 132,690,372 28,234,299 104,456,073

Ministry of Labor and Social Development of Kyrgyz Republic 16,121,047 13,379,996 2,741,051

Mayor`s Office of Bishkek city 4,296,326 2,681,441 1,614,885

1 Average estimation without Turkey-Kyrgyzstan Friendship Hospital 2 COVID-19 Bilateral assistance

• Russia provided 13,700 test systems and 110 packages of reagents. • provided 7,000 test systems (reagents), 200,000 disposable masks, 10,000 respiratory masks No. 95, 1000 protective medical suits, 1000 medical protective gowns, 500 thermometers, 1000 medical protective glasses, 1000 medical gloves, 1000 medical shoe covers. • On 20 April 2020 a group of medical specialists from the People's Republic of China arrived in the Kyrgyz Republic. Chinese doctors will provide assistance and share experiences in COVID-19 response. In addition, they will share best practices and techniques in treating patients. • On 10 April 2020, humanitarian aid arrived at Osh Oblast from Chinese companies and private entrepreneurs: 400 pieces of medical bags, 1000 pieces of thermal imagers, protective clothing - 1000 pieces, disinfecting equipment - 50 pieces. • Switzerland equipped the mobile units in the Chui region and the Pervomayski district of Bishkek with the necessary PPE; by mid-April, 35 oxygen concentrators are expected to arrive. • Japan provided 2000 rapid tests (Primers and Probes and Positive Control). • Korea provided 500 pairs of medical gloves, 10 liters of hand antiseptics, 5 liters of spray antiseptics for surfaces. Citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic in Korea received 800 disposable masks and 500 ml of antiseptic. • Turkey provided 200 packages of test systems, 5000 disposable masks, 200 protective suits, 100 masks with a protective filter, 12 goggles. Manas University has defined its hostel in 250 beds as a quarantine center. • Uzbekistan provided 16,000 masks, 7900 protective overalls, 4800 test systems and reagents, 1000 tons of flour, 20 000 gloves, 2000 respirators No. 95, 500 goggles, 200 pyrometers.

Local funds and initiatives

• Private entrepreneurs provided assistance to physicians in the Batken Regional Hospital with food. 81 employees received 1 bag of flour, sugar and pasta. • Residents of the of the provided assistance to 500 low-income families in the region. • Osh city youth committee prepared food packages for 200 low-income young families. • A private entrepreneur transferred assistance in the form of food packages for 1000 families in Naryn.

EARLY RECOVERY

Needs: • Support 620,100 vulnerable population. 620,100 • Continuing basic services (waste management, public administrative services). • Means of transportation to deliver the goods produced from regions. People targeted • Restore livelihoods and employment. • Needs and Socio-economic impact assessment will identify further needs.

Response: • Conduct extended early recovery partners meeting on 20th April. Next meeting on 27th April. • Needs assessments are being implemented to clarify the impact of the COVID outbreak and accompanying restrictions on the vulnerable groups, including MSME’s, rural communities, and migrant families. • Socio-economic impact assessment is being conducted; the draft report will be available soon. • Partner develop new projects and re-programming the ongoing activities to COVID-19 early recovery efforts.

Gaps & Constraints: • The needs assessment will provide more specific information on existing gaps and constraints regarding Early Recovery gaps and constraints to plan. • Restriction on the communities and farmers for field works. • Lack of transportation to deliver goods and agriculture productions from greenhouses. • Agriculture lost from the recent frost and cold weather is not being addressed (301min soms damage). • Local service provider of waste collection has stopped providing services due to restriction and lack of findings. • Increased prices of commodities (foods and medicines). • Wide negative impact on the business including textile, tourism, SMEs, etc. • Restriction of movement imposed by government lead discontinuation of project implementation. • Cross border issues and dispute in the border communities.

3 COVID-19 EDUCATION

Needs: • Approx. 2.4 million children and young people are affected by the educational facility closure and in need of remote learning. 2.5M • More than 100,000 teachers are in need of clear instructions and capacity for People targeted providing and monitoring remote learning. • Approx. 500,000 parents/caregivers are in need of recommendations on how to effectively spend time with and support learning of children at home.

Response: • The Ministry of Education and Science, with support of the Education Sector, has launched remote learning tools (e.g. online video lessons and TV lessons) on 8 April. It is expected to ensure continuous learning of students and completion of Q4, the last quarter of the academic year 2019-2020, by end May. Gaps & Constraints: • Children in extreme poverty (0.8%) and poverty (28%) groups, children in difficult life circumstances and children of ethnic/language minorities are expected to be having challenges in terms of accessing the remote learning tools, due to lack or absence of computer/smartphone/TV. • More online contents are needed for students of primary and secondary TVET, as well as youth in the NEET category. • Teachers, especially of elder age, in remote areas, poor communities and with low IT skills, need more support. • Access monitoring tool informing targeted response needs to be established. • Assessment issue (how to conduct assessment of academic performance, especially for grades 9 and 11) needs to be addressed. • Psycho-emotional well-being of children and teachers needs to be supported.

FOOD SECURITY AND LOGISTICS

Needs: • 500,000 require immediate direct food assistance. It is estimated that about 1.83 500,000 million people will require food or cash assistance • 400,000 smallholder farmers in need of support to sustain and maintain People targeted agriculture season 2020 Response: • In April, WFP in coordination with Ministry of Labour and Social Development distributed 1,033.4 metric tons of food assistance to 33,135 beneficiaries through regular asset creation and training programmes. WFP is also procuring additional food to reach another 30,000 people with food assistance in May. • In May-June, WFP through a grant of 200,000 USD from the Embassy of Switzerland, provide 3-month food assistance to over 3,100 residents of boarding schools and social inpatient institutions. • In May, WFP will re-distribute the wheat flour from its school meals programme to vulnerable families with children. • Government distribution of 5,000 metric tons of food allocated from state material reserve is ongoing. Government is reported to allocate KGS 200 million to provide food assistance to low-income families. • Wheat from Russia and is arriving to replenish the stocks of State Material Reserve. • Development Partners Coordination Country group on Food Security and Nutrition conducted regular meeting to finalize the anti-crisis plan to address the emerging needs to maintain food security and nutrition of the population. Measures include support to private sector to stabilize the markets, stockpiling food as part of state material reserve and cash transfers to the population economically impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. • Recommendations on appropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding developed, approved by the Experts Council of the MoH on 6, April 2020 and being under dissemination (210,000 copies) to maternal and new-born facilities, and health promotion units of the family medicine centres country wide. • Support on continuation of existing essential nutrition services, including procurement of essential nutrition supplies to vulnerable children and pregnant women. Funding request submitted to the WB

Gaps & Constraints: • There is an urgent need to raise 8.4 million USD to cover the two months food requirement of about 500,000 most poor and vulnerable in the country during May and June 2020.

4 COVID-19 • There is urgent need to mobilize 2.5 million USD in support of smallholder farmers to sustain and maintain agriculture season 2020 with a focus on ensuring their access to seeds, labor, fertilizer and livelihood care due to restrictions set during this crisis. • UNICEF has submitted requests to its donors to reprogramme some of the activities to meet the needs in the sector, however, the activities still face 530,000 USD gap. • HEALTH

Needs: • To support the Government and the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan to lead and 6.2 ensure an effective, timely and coordinated response that will mitigate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak in Kyrgyzstan, achieved through a clear response MILLION coordination mechanism and strategy, and clearly defined roles and People targeted responsibilities of all relevant national and international partners. Response: • World Bank World Bank’s confirmed support to the Kyrgyz Contingency Plan for COVID-19 of USD 22.15 million (On April 21, 2020: Signed by the President of Kyrgyz Republic). The support is line with the Country’s plan and priorities to support COVID19 response and strengthen health system. • WHO continues to provide capacity building activities to strengthen surveillance, case management, laboratory and infection prevention and control. • Sector partners continue the provision of communication and awareness raising to address gaps in knowledge and address myths. • Composition of a subgroup to address the mental health and psychosocial needs of health workers: WHO will be leading development of a programme with following components: specialized skills, on-the-job training and importance of ensuring favorable environments for health workers. • Ministry of Health recently conducted an investigation on why health workers were infected, sector now expecting its results. • WHO supported a mission of an emergency medical team from Poland, who have wrapped up their mission in Bishkek and are now going to Osh. The team supported the provision of intensive care and supported the training of health workers. • Sector meeting is planned on Monday, 27 April 2020 Gaps & Constraints: • The need to support the MoH in forecasting the needs of essential supplies, (including Lab test) to inform efficient coordination of procurement and support of key partners and donors

PROTECTION

Needs: • More information campaigns and prevention measures against SGBV are needed. 1.5 • Establish safe spaces for survivors of SGBV. • To have a clear referral mechanism among hot-line operators and service MILLION providers. People targeted • Need to include youth engagement in the Sector work plan. Response: • Protection sector plan was presented to a Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Development for the Ministry’s review and approval. • 4 gender experts are engaged to support the operation and respond to GBV for Shtab of Ministry of labor and social development. • TOR to support the crisis centers to provide safe spaces and social/psycho-social support to GVB survivors in the context of emergency (Covid19) are in process of development. The association of crisis centers is also engaged to develop Guidelines to provide technical support to improve and strengthen the capacities of key sectors (health, social services, law, police, justice, and humanitarian settings) national and sub-national multi- sectoral coordination for EVAWG. The request will be supported through (i) development of coordinated algorithm of response to GBV and (ii) coordination of on-line psychosocial services during COVID-19 (as a part of multi-sectoral response to GBV. • To provide safe spaces for victims of SGBV, negotiations with hotels are also ongoing.

5 COVID-19 • Unite network developed crisis communication strategy to promote gender agenda (GBV sub-sector activities are integrated). • As per agreement with the Crisis Management Center of MES, from 1st of May primary legal aid will provided daily through hotline 112 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 6 days a week, on issues related to duties and rights of citizens under the state of emergency, including performance of contractual obligations, employment relations, family relations, domestic violence in both Kyrgyz and Russian languages • Scope of work for legal analysis of the 1998 State of Emergency Law launched with Expert Group on Counteraction to COVID-19 to amend the law in line with the 2016 Constitution, codes and laws adopted under the 2017-2019 judicial-legal reform, other sectoral laws, including the Law on Public Health and the Law on Civic Protection, as well as per country’s specific needs under the current emergency associated with COVID-19. • Legal analysis of by-laws and of the State Emergency Law are ongoing. • Hotline 111 is working full-time, with on average 400 calls per day. • A Note Verbal has been sent to the Minister of Foreign Affair expressing concern to the fact that official messages and orders from commanders were issued only in KGZ language, which limits access to information by linguistic minorities. In this Note, a technical support to translate these orders has also been mentioned. • Conducted census of children in residential institutions aiming to assess the target and their need revealed a diminution of 75% of children living in residential institution. • Provided protective and sanitation material to residential institutions for protection of children as well as to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development for Social workers across the country • Organizing online events for engaging youth in the prevention of violence against children and DV. • With regard to persons deprived of liberty: electronic courses for prison staff on minimum standard of prison management including COVID-19 prevention (soon available in Russian) have been developed. Communication material targeting people deprived of liberty have been produced and disseminated (soon available in Kyrgyz language). • About 20 victims of trafficking have been assisted with food and non-food items. Gaps & Constraints: • The restriction of movement affects the independent work of media. • Number of complaints of domestic violence increased and it very is high. Moreover, due the current situation, it is harder for survivors to file complaints. • No possibility to operate of shelters and crisis centers to service GBV survivors. • Scarcity of available psychologists. • NHRIs and continues to be restricted in its mandate of monitoring due to the situation and restriction of movement. • The Government – especially the Ministry of Health - is starting to be the main target of hate speech in media.

WASH

Needs: • Support local systems on rapid containment of localized outbreaks through 500,000 provision of needed supplies and care for first line responders including MoES. Please contact WASH Sector Lead for detailed list of items. Targeted people Response: • UNICEF will provide MoES with 36,000 packs of water purification tabs, 28-water filters, 2,000 pieces of soap and 3,200 units of collapsible water container by the end of next week. UNICEF has started distribution of soaps to Family Medicine Centers in Batken-1000 pcs, Osh- 2500 pcs and Jalalabad- 2500 pcs and 80 Family hygiene kits to Lulie community in Karasuu District, Osh Oblast. • AKF is procuring hygiene kits for 340 vulnerable families Karabak and Beshkent Ayil Okmmotu of Batken Oblast. Individual hygiene kits to be given to women and adolescent girls in Jalalabad, Naryn and Osh Oblasts. • World Bank allocated 45,000 USD for chlorine and 100 000 USD for WASH and Health related Communication activities. • The Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent provided 4 000 individual hygiene kits for observation points across the country and 6 tons of bottled water to governmental bodies responding to COVID-19 in Osh, Jalal Abad and Batken provinces. As of 24 April 2020, the RCSK provided 4 467 families, across the country with hygiene kits. Upcoming month additional 50 observations points in Osh, Jalal Abad, Batken, Naryn and Issyk Kul provinces will receive hygiene items (soap, sanitizers, washing powder, rubber gloves and etc). 6 600 vulnerable families in all provinces will be provided by food parcels and hygiene kits.

6 COVID-19

Gaps & Constraints: • The needs requests provided by MES reflect only the need of the given ministry not the needs of facilities or impacted population • The needs of the local population of the affected regions difficult to assess due to restrictions in place • Lack of donors and funding agencies within the WASH sector • Complicated internal procurement procedures by each sector member agency for quick response

The Government established in January 2020 a special stab (coordination center) under the Prime Minister. The Republican Shtab supported by two shtabs on health and socio-economic response. The Republican stab consists of all line ministries responsible for COVID-19 response. To develop proposals for implementation of measures aimed at attracting external assistance to overcome the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic established expert working groups in the four areas. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic (MoES) is the operational branch for the Government’s Republican stab to coordinate all kinds of emergencies. MoES operates in collaboration with other line ministries, the territorial government bodies, local authorities, international and non-governmental organizations, directly and through subordinate bodies. Even before the first COVID-19 cases were recorded, the Government has taken a number of measures to mitigate the spread of the disease. Following the confirmation of the first confirmed cases, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic introduced a state of emergency in the country from 22 March 2020. On 16 March 2020 Government requested activation of Disaster Response Coordination Unit (DRCU) Council. In small and medium scale emergencies, DRCU takes the responsibility to coordinate and plan the multisector response. Under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator the international humanitarian community in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan has established DRCU, which comprises the heads of the UN agencies, Red Cross/Red Crescent movement, international organizations and NGOs. UN OCHA National Disaster Response Advisor supports DRCU as Secretariat, DRCU is a consultative-deliberative mechanism whose main purpose is to coordinate humanitarian response to emergencies welcomed and/or upon the Kyrgyz Government relevant request and enhance collaboration among DRCU partners and other key actors.

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