Focus on Equity Strategy Paper, 2012

1 Contents Introduction 3 Children susceptible to inequity 5 Children living in remote areas 6 Children living in areas affected by conflict 6 Children of migrant workers 6 Children living in poverty 7 Children from minority ethnic groups 7 Children with disabilities 8 Girls 8 Children living with HIV and AIDS. 9 Other groups of children facing disparities 11 The 2011 equity project 11 Findings from the Batken project 14 Equity in the 2012-2016 Country Programme 17 Equitable, quality and responsive systems for children 18 Increased access to quality social services 19 Adolescent and youth civic engagement and partnership for child rights 20 In conclusion: expected impact of equity programming 21 Annex 1. The selection of municipalities for Component 2 of 2012-2016 Country Programme 22 Annex 2. Map of Kyrgyzstan with selected municipalities for equity focused programming 23

2 Introduction 3 In the UNICEF understanding, an equity-based shocks that have hit the country since 20083. A approach “seeks to understand and address refocusing on equity in UNICEF Kyrgyzstan’s the root causes of inequity so that all children, programming is likely to be the best way to sup- particularly those who suffer the worst depri- port the government to be in a position meet its vations in society, have access to education, MDG targets. health care, sanitation, clean water, protection, and other services necessary for their survival, growth, and development.”1 Recent global UNICEF research has shown that the best way to meet the Millennium Devel- opment Goals (MDGs) is by targeting the poor- est and most disadvantaged children with an equity-focused strategy. As well as being mor- ally right, such an approach could avert many more child and maternal deaths and episodes of stunting than would otherwise be the case. Because national burdens of disease, ill health and illiteracy are concentrated in the most im- poverished child populations, providing these children with essential services can greatly ac- celerate progress towards the MDGs and re- duce disparities within countries.2 In Kyrgyzstan’s context, certain MDGs, in par- ticular those for maternal mortality (MDG 5) and HIV and AIDS (MDG 6) currently seem very un- likely to be met. Progress towards several oth- er MDGs is likely to be slowed because of the series of socioeconomic, political and security

3 The shocks include a food and energy crisis (2008- 2009), economic crisis (from 2009), political upheaval 1 UNICEF NYHQ, Re-focusing on Equity: Questions (April 2010) and ethnic conflict in the south of the coun- and Answers, November 2010, p4 try (June 2010). For more information on the shocks see 2 UNICEF, Progress for Children: Achieving the MDGs Situation Assessment of Children in the Kyrgyz Repub- with Equity, Number 9, September 2010 lic, UNICEF, 2011 4 Children susceptible to inequity 5 To be able to tackle equity concerns adequate- Children living in areas affected by ly, the deprivations present in society must first conflict be identified. Deprivation can be multifaceted, and cannot be identified on the basis of income Children and young people living in communi- alone. One approach to identify the most de- ties that have experienced conflict are another prived children is to look at the attributes that group of great concern. This includes young are generally considered to be common among men and possibly boys from post-conflict areas groups that typically experience multiple depri- in the south where Kyrgyz and Uzbek commu- vations4. Based on the findings of UNICEF’s nities live close together or from mono-ethnic 2011 Situation Assessment in Kyrgyzstan5, this areas from where they travelled to participate section looks at some of the groups of children in the fighting. As a result of the conflict, 3,433 in Kyrgyzstan vulnerable to deprivation: children lost one parent, and three children lost both. Post-traumatic stress disorder has been Children living in remote areas identified by the Ministry of Health as akey A key group of children more susceptible to de- health concern in southern Kyrgyzstan, and re- privation are those from rural areas, who are quires mental health and psychosocial support. more likely to be from poor families, have less In addition, access to professional healthcare access to social facilities including schools and providers remains problematic for some com- healthcare facilities and suffer lower quality ser- munities affected by the violence, especially for vice provision. These problems are particularly victims of gender-based violence, because of acute in remote mountainous areas of the coun- fear and mistrust of health personnel. This has try6. Shortages of healthcare and educational resulted in an increase in home deliveries and equipment are also more common in these ar- delays in seeking health care7. Meanwhile, the eas. Child protection, as well as health and ed- lack of trust in these areas between ethnic com- ucation, is also hampered by the fact that pro- munities, as well as between young people and fessionals, as well as beneficiaries, have much the authorities, requires efforts to build relation- further to travel to ensure that needs are met, ships and trust. and often have less resources to do this with. Children of migrant workers Many children from the remote and conflict-af- 4 Re-focusing on Equity, pp 5-6 fected areas described above, among others, 5 UNICEF, Situation Assessment, supra have seen their parents migrate to find work in 6 Institute of Strategic Analysis and Evaluation Under Russia or Kazakhstan. There are no reliable the President of the Kyrgyz Republic / UNICEF, National Report of the Kyrgyz Republic: Global Study on Child 7 UNOCHA, Kyrgyzstan: Extended and Revised Flash Poverty and Disparities, 2009 (Child Poverty) Appeal – June 2010 to June 2011 6 figures for the number of migrant workers from out of pocket payments to service providers are Kyrgyzstan, though some estimates put the fig- common in both fields, reducing access to ser- ure at about 500,0008. Many children are left vices for poorer families. Some important ser- with relatives, often grandparents, who may vices, such as preschool education are virtually find it difficult to meet the material and emotion- inaccessible for the poorest children: while 47 al needs of the growing children, many of whom per cent of children in the richest quintile attend are thus placed in residential institutions9. In a preschool course, only 7 per cent of those in some cases, children whose parents have mi- the poorest quintile do so13. grated abroad can face problems in obtaining Poverty is geographically diverse – poverty legal documentation, including internal pass- 10 rates based on consumption figures continue ports and other identity documentation . to be much higher in rural than in urban areas, and particularly in remote areas. National Sta- Children living in poverty tistical Committee figures for 2010 report that In 2009, it was reported that almost half of Kyr- the poorest province is now rural , where gyzstan’s children (48.5 per cent) live in poverty, 53.5 per cent of the population are classified and one in eight children suffers from extreme as poor, compared to 7.9 per cent in . A poverty and deprivation11. Children from poor World Bank survey in 2005 made estimates for households are less successful at school, and poverty levels at district level. Almost all of the are more likely to have health problems and districts with more than 70 per cent estimated they often struggle to find meaningful employ- poverty were primarily remote and mountain- ment in later life12. While primary and second- ous. ary education, as well as essential healthcare, is by law provided free of charge, in practice Children from minority ethnic groups

8 Institute of Strategic Analysis and Evaluation / Several disparities appear to disproportion- UNICEF, supra ately affect children of ethnic minority groups. 9 Mehrigul Ablezova, Emil Nasritdinov and Ruslan Rahi- These include the psychological, educational mov, The impact of migration on elderly people: grand- and healthcare impact of the June conflict – the parent-headed households in Kyrgyzstan, HelpAge vast majority of housing destroyed belonged to International Central Asia and Social Research Center, ethnic Uzbek families, and security concerns American University of Central Asia, 2008 have made parents reluctant to send children to 10 UNHCR, A Place to Call Home: The Situation of school or seek medical treatment14. Concerns Stateless Persons in the Kyrgyz Republic, 2009 11 Institute of Strategic Analysis and Evaluation / 13 National Statistical Committee and UNICEF, Multiple UNICEF, supra Indicator Cluster Survey, 2006 12 Ibid. 14 kg.humanitarianresponse.org 7 have been raised that many Uzbek-language fluences those caring for disabled children in- textbooks in were confiscated in October cluding teachers, parents and medical person- 2010 because they were printed in Uzbekistan nel. Mechanisms that result in the segregation for an audience in that state. Uzbek and rus- of disabled children are still in place. Children sian language textbooks have been developed with disabilities are often segregated in special- by academics in Kyrgyzstan, and published ized schools, living in institutions separate from through support from UNICEF. Meanwhile, their families, and excluded from many social earlier studies have also shown that ethnic activities. Meanwhile, those children that stay Uzbek children are more likely to suffer abuse at home with their families may receive no edu- or neglect15, and receive less parental support cation at all. There are concerns that the num- for their early development16. Their parents ber of children with disabilities may be underre- are also less likely to know the danger signs ported, as it is speculated that bribes are often of childhood diseases17. Some of these issues required to register the child’s disability to re- may be partly related to limited child-focussed ceive benefits. The costs of travelling to regis- programming among the Uzbek community by ter disability may also inhibit families in remote development partners in the past. It is likely that areas. In many cases children are only diag- some of these issues are also faced by children nosed on arrival at school. There are very few from smaller minority ethnic groups, but disag- rehabilitation centres available for children with gregated data is largely unavailable. UNICEF disabilities in the country – just one in Bishkek advocates with the Government to consider and one in nearby Chuy province. linguistic and cultural diversity as drive for the development of the society. The concept of Girls the multi-cultural and multi-linguist education Ethnic Kyrgyz girls, particularly in rural areas, should be mainstreamed into the State Educa- are susceptible to being abducted for marriage. tional Strategy. One study estimates that 30 per cent of all mar- riages in the country are the result of bride-kid- Children with disabilities napping, while others have found that in certain Kyrgyzstan is still shaking off the legacy of the areas, predominately at village level, the preva- Soviet model of care of disabled children. The lence may be as high as 80 per cent18. Many medical model of disability still prevails and in- victims of bride abduction are reportedly under 18 years of age, though precise figures are un- 15 Dr Robin N. Haar, Child Abuse and Neglect in Fami- lies in the Kyrgyz Republic, UNICEF, 2010 18 Human Rights Watch, Reconciled to Violence: 16 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, supra State Failure to Stop Domestic Abuse and Abduction of 17 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, supra Women in Kyrgyzstan, September 2006, p89 8 available. Meanwhile, after the June 2010 vio- however, a larger proportion of girls (78.1 per lence in southern Kyrgyzstan, a rise has been cent) than boys (59.6 per cent) perform unpaid reported in early marriage of girls within the household services (‘household chores’)20. Uzbek community from already significant lev- els19. This is reportedly partly because parents Children living with HIV and AIDS. feel their daughters will be safer with husbands, Over the last 10 years, the prevalence of HIV particularly if further trouble means further dis- has risen by an average of 25 per cent per placement. There are also concerns that acute year, more than the MDG target of 20 per economic difficulties arising from the conflict cent21. There are concerns that HIV infections mean that parents feel unable to support their are growing particularly fast in southern Kyr- daughters financially. gyzstan, partly as a result of poor hygiene in Girls of whatever ethnicity coerced into early hospitals but also because of ignorance about marriage often become the victims of forced do- how the virus is contracted22. By April 2007, mestic labour, are denied opportunities of edu- more than 100 young children had been infect- cation, and are rarely granted property rights. ed with HIV in medical facilities in Osh prov- Poverty and unemployment, patriarchal tradi- ince23. It is not clear if the virus was primarily tions, and religious conservatism are underly- contracted from dirty needles or from mother ing factors in the prevalence of early marriage. to child24. Since the outbreak, the province has the highest rates of women and children living Because of early marriage, ethnic Uzbek girls are less likely to complete school than Uzbek 20 ILO and National Statistical Committee, Working boys. Other groups, particularly ethnic Rus- Children in Kyrgyzstan: The Results of 2007 Child Labor sians see higher levels of boys dropping out of Survey, September 2008) school, often to work in fields or in markets. The 21 UNAIDS, Fact Sheet: Eastern Europe and Central prevalence of economic work is higher among Asia, 23 November 2010, at http://www.unaids.org/ boys (49.6 per cent) than girls (41.5 per cent); documents/20101123_FS_eeca_em_en.pdf 22 Abdumomun Mamaraimov, HIV Shadow Lengthens 19 Because many early marriages involve just religious Over South Kyrgyzstan, IWPR, 13 March 2008, athttp:// ceremonies, and are not registered with the authorities, iwpr.net/report-news/hiv-shadow-lengthens-over-south- the number of such marriages is unknown. However, re- kyrgyzstan ports indicate that several hundred girls under 17 years 23 Olga Grebennikova, New Ways to Resolve the Chal- of age were registered married in 2006-9, and that the lenges of the 21st Century, UNICEF, 19 September practice is more prevalent in the Uzbek community 2009 while a study in Osh in 2008 showed that 77 per cent of underage marriages went unreported. See Hamid 24 Galina Solodunova, Partners in Kyrgyzstan Unite Toursunov and Bakyt Ibraimov, Child Brides, Transitions against HIV Stigma and Discrimination, UNICEF, 29 Online, 23 June 2009 October 2010 9 with HIV in the country. Women and children diagnosed with HIV have suffered stigma and discrimination from healthcare workers, within their schools, in their communities and from their families, while many of the victims have developed serious mistrust of doctors. The situation is aggravated by lack of information about HIV, fear-mongering in the media, and traditional beliefs which lead people to consider HIV infection as punishment for women’s sins. Furthermore victims are not supported because women’s and children’s health are considered to be purely the business of mothers25.

Other groups of children facing dis- parities There are several other groups of children fac- ing disparities that also need to be considered when developing programming with an equity focus. These include children left without pa- rental care, child victims of abuse and violence, children in contact with the law, street children, and children undertaking hazardous work (in- cluding children working in mines).

25 UNICEF, A Mission to Help and Let Others lead a Full Life, 2009 10 The 2011 Batken equity project 11 A pilot project addressing equity issues at the better provide for the families. Meanwhile, the community level began in three municipalities ECD component worked at the community level in Batken district of Batken Province in March to address obstacles to pre-school attendance 2011. The “Promoting equity in the most de- among the most deprived community members. prived and remote communities” was devel- The barriers to equity revealed in Batken were oped to explore how equity programming can to some extent institutional. From some of the be integrated into UNICEF’s 2012-2016 Coun- villages, the main transport service available is try Programme. The project deliberately took a 2.5 hour 80 kilometre round trip on a minibus a multisectoral approach, and was designed which leaves in the morning and returns in the collaboratively by the Health, Nutrition, Social evening. At 500 som (about $11) for a round Protection and Early Childhood Development trip, the cost is prohibitive for most local people. teams. Its goal was to provide more equitable In addition, most of the villages have no land- access to quality healthcare, pre-school and lines or mobile phone coverage. However, in social services for disadvantaged and poor some of the larger villages, because of labour children and mothers. It concentrated on 18 re- migration, internet telephone services and bank mote villages in Batken district with extremely services have been set up by private compa- poor communications and transportation links. nies to facilitate communications. A baseline survey of pregnant women and women with children under five was carried out Other barriers are more attitudinal. Research in the villages in May, and an endline survey revealed, for example, that vulnerable women was conducted in November to assess to what are convinced that they can do nothing to im- extent issues of inequity have been resolved. prove their situation, and that nothing can get better. They do not try to overcome the prob- The health component of the project sought lems they face. For example, women who are to enhance the capacity of district healthcare giving birth feel that their husbands have to workers to provide timely healthcare delivery pay high bribes to midwives or obstetricians and referral of young children and pregnant to facilitate the birth process, or else medical women, and to pass on key messages on child- staff will behave badly to them. However, none hood diseases and danger signs during preg- of the women interviewed were aware of any nancy, thereby leading to reductions in mater- cases in which medical staff did behave badly nal and child mortality and morbidity. The social when bribes were not paid. This is a case of protection component built the capacity of lo- a tradition that has evolved to become a norm cal social protection staff and potential benefi- that has clear benefits for service providers, but ciaries to ensure that the most disadvantaged costs for service users. Another type of attitudi- families were provided with social cash trans- nal barrier comes from the side of the service fers to supplement their incomes and therefore providers. It was also reported, for example that 12 some pregnant women in villages close to the project. Professionals and service users across Tajik border prefer to seek medical assistance the sectors revealed during the course of the in Tajikistan because they are treated better by project a desire for more cross-sectoral work, medical personnel there. Traditions and inertia in a way that would allow problems to be solved at the local level make service providers less in- together. Across the sectors, the project has clined to seek out new, better ways of working. revealed barriers and bottlenecks that prevent Lessons learned in the Batken project are being very strong laws, regulations and policies at used in planning the next Country Programme. national level, that have been designed to ad- One of the key gaps identified has been the dis- dress vulnerability and inequity, from being im- crepancy between policies and laws and the plemented in the communities particularly vul- way they are implemented at local level. Across nerable to these problems. Those developing all sectors implementation varies even between strategies and legislation at national level often neighbouring villages because of local factors. do not understand how things work at commu- At the local level many people do not know what nity level. Meanwhile, the local authorities in they are entitled to or where they can go if their some cases did not understand their respon- rights are violated. sibilities under law, and some of the steps they can take to reduce deprivation and inequity in Health, social protection, communications and their areas. education sections all took part in the equity

Lack of Harmful communication Poor traditions Poverty Corruption and complaint and social transportation procedures norms infrastructure

Limited Bottle necks and barriers to basic Discriminatory information attitude on access services and social cash transfers of the service to poverty- in Batken province providers targeted cash transfers, Limited Improper Discrepancy Limited free medicines information fulfilment between knowledge and health on social of policies about rights services entitlements and medical services responsibilities and laws and laws

13 Findings from the Batken project Communication activities have led to all house- der the Ministry of Health. The local radio station holds with pregnant women and children under provided additional information on the related five in the 18 targeted villages gaining knowledge areas through five 30-second public service of danger signs in pregnancy and childhood dis- announcements, seven 15-minute radio pro- eases, as well as social protection entitlements. grammes and twenty 10-minute quizzes which Beneficiaries raised their concerns with local vil- ensured active participation of the population in lage health committees, who had been trained the discussion. by the Republican Health Promotion Centre un-

Diagram 1. A share of women aware of 3 and more symptoms of child diseases when a medical worker has to be consulted26

33% Total 75% 39% June 2011 Kara-Bak 68% 28% Daryin 86% 25% October 2011 Kyshtut 84% 0 25 50 75 100

Diagram 2. A share of women aware of 3 and more dangerous signs during the pregnancy27

26% Total 58% June 2011 Kara-Bak 27% 48% Daryin 24% 68% Kyshtut 25% October 2011 73% 0 25 50 75 100

26-27 UNICEF, Study of knowledge and public awareness of danger signs of child diseases and pregnancy in Batken province, November 2011 14 In the health sector, in-depth assessments re- In the Early Childhood Development (ECD) field, vealed insufficient knowledge base, skills and 121 children with special needs were identified resources to provide effective perinatal care as a result of close collaboration between health, and health care for sick children. As a result of education and social protection services at mu- training and coaching, all primary health care nicipal level. Individual development plans have staff, first aid and ambulance service staff cov- been designed for each of them to support their ering the target villages as well as 130 nurses socialisation through integration to educational from in-patient departments and 45 doctors en- and care programmes. Four children with dis- hanced their capacity on antenatal and emer- abilities have entered preschool and one child gency obstetrics care, and Integrated Manage- is now attending primary school. The introduc- ment of Childhood Diseases (IMCI). Trainees tion of a shift system in the community-based have demonstrated significant improvement kindergarten in Kyzyl Bel village has allowed 55 of their knowledge and skills as a result of the additional children to enjoy their right to develop- training. All training sessions were followed by ment and socialization. Children from poor fami- the after-training support, supervised practice lies have been prioritised for enrolment in this and coaching to ensure full and correct applica- social service. Fifty-eight healthcare workers, tion of new knowledge and techniques. teachers, social workers and parents from five With regard to social protection, in response to villages in Karabak have been trained on the ba- an identified information gap in rural families sics of ECD. A 2-day training seminar on screen- with regard to their social entitlements, and com- ing of young children was carried out for medical plaints about corruption in one municipality while personnel in Batken district in July, followed by enrolling into social cash transfers schemes, a 3-day seminar on early detection and integra- 5000 leaflets were distributed to all households tion of children with disabilities into preschool in the 18 villages. The leaflets explain enrolment education institutions for teachers of preschool procedures and provide contacts to channel education institutions, representatives of district complaints and/or make inquiries for more infor- education departments and parents. mation. Five hundred posters repeating the in- More than 50 local government representatives, formation are on display in local authority offices, including financial specialists, councillors and social protection departments, post offices, local village heads have benefited from technical as- markets, schools and rural health points in the sistance, training followed by coaching on partic- three municipalities. Five social protection ad- ipatory strategic planning and management. As ministrators and 17 local social workers have re- a result, one municipality (Daryin) has revised ceived on-the-job coaching and consultations on its local two-year local development strategy new eligibility criteria and access procedures for (2012-2013) and strengthened its social block poverty-targeted cash transfers. The latter was with earmarked funding. For the other two local provided by the Ministry of Social Protection and governments thisis still work in progress. facilitated by UNICEF. 15 Examples of Communication Materials - Batken Equity Project, 2011

16 Equity in the 2012-2016

Country Programme17 UNICEF has built on the recognition of the that by 2016, at national level, more children importance of an equity-based approach for and women have increased access to quality meeting the MDGs, the findings of the situation and responsive services, including social bene- assessment, and the results from the pilot eq- fits. Line Ministries will be supported to improve uity project in Batken Province in developing a monitoring and management of these services, clear equity focus for its Country Programme for to ensure access for the vulnerable. 2012-2016. The programme comprises three Within the health sector, UNICEF will support components, namely: a) Equitable, Quality and the Ministry of Health, as part of a sector-wide Responsive Systems for Children; b) Increased donor approach, to improve its management Access to Quality Social Services; and c) Ado- and monitoring of provision and performance lescents and Youth Civic Engagement and Part- of quality and responsive priority life-saving nerships for Child Rights. The first two compo- health services for children and mothers. Im- nents will support national systems and local proved monitoring and management will allow partners, respectively, to ensure that reforms at for identification of barriers and bottlenecks that the central level are effectively translated into poor and vulnerable families face for treatment, increased access to quality social services by including nutrition services and diagnostic, pre- the most vulnerable and marginalized women, ventative and treatment interventions for HIV, girls and boys. The third component will con- and develop strategies to overcome these. tribute to creating an enabling environment for the realization of the rights of adolescents and In the education sector, the Ministry of Educa- children. This section reviews what the equity tion and Science will be supported to ensure focus means for each of the three components increased equity in access to pre-school edu- of the Programme. cation, a better quality teaching and learning environment in basic education, and effective Equitable, quality and responsive responses to the needs of out-of-school chil- dren. In particular, the Ministry will during the systems for children period develop a school readiness plan that fo- This component focuses on national level en- cuses on the most marginalised children, and gagement with government structures to sup- increase the availability of accurate and reliable port policy development, standards, normative data on pre-school and out-of-school children, frameworks and budget formulation to improve as well as the learning environment in pre- the quality of social services and bring them school and basic education. Again, these mea- into line with international standards and norms. sures to improve monitoring and management A wide range of measures can be introduced of the education system will help ensure equity within this component to reduce disparities in in access to school and pre-school education. service provision. UNICEF will seek to ensure 18 With regard to child protection, national and lo- and child protection, water and sanitation, and cal authorities will be supported to prevent and youth services. They will also seek to improve respond effectively to cases of violence, abuse, the capability, responsiveness and account- neglect, and separation of children from their ability of local administrations and local service families. Secondary legislation, including the providers in the communities. For more details basis for a national child protection referral sys- on the selection process, see Annex 1 and 2. tem and an accurate data collection system dis- At the local level, UNICEF will develop the aggregated by age, sex, region etc., will be de- capacity of state service providers by provid- veloped to ensure that social service providers ing training and follow-up coaching support to and justice professionals can plan and provide improve their ability to manage their affairs ef- appropriate assistance to vulnerable children fectively in order to deliver concrete results for and children in conflict with law. There will also children. In addition, local authorities in the tar- be a focus on ensuring that all children, what- get communities will be supported to make sure ever their backgrounds, have birth registration. that in their budgets enough money is allocated A fourth strand of activities will be in support of to children’s issues to ensure that their rights the Ministry of Social Protection, to implement are realized. The activities will bring together children, families, communities, local govern- effective response policies, programmes and ment and other service providers to work for the services that target child poverty. This will in- benefit of children. Whether the issue is educa- clude an equitable social cash transfer system, tion, child protection, social benefits, health, nu- which reaches a much higher proportion of the trition or water and sanitation, UNICEF will try extremely poor, and provides higher benefits to ensure that all those involved unite to plan, that better reflect minimal subsistence costs. implement and monitor the success of strate- gies and programmes to improve the situation Increased access to quality social for children. services There will be a number of further common gov- This, the second component of UNICEF’s 2012- ernance themes to the equity approach across 2016 Country Programme, represents a signif- the project areas. One is the fact that training icant shift in focus for UNICEF in Kyrgyzstan events on key issues of concern cannot be held and will involve addressing inequities among in isolation – while these may be able to im- poor children and women living in 23 particu- prove the capability of service providers and larly disadvantaged municipalities around the users at local level to improve outcomes, they country. Activities under this component will in- cannot in themselves bring about responsive- crease access at community level to quality ba- ness and accountability. Therefore, project ac- sic services including health, education, social tivities will have strong mentoring and coaching

19 components to provide longer-term support to Adolescent and youth civic engage- local partners. ment and partnership for child rights In addition, a third level of project activities will The third component will contribute to creating promote development of sustainable govern- an enabling environment for the realisation of ment-led oversight of project activities and re- the rights of adolescents and children. sults at local, district and national level within and across sectors. This will enable the project Youth policy has emerged as a key concern team and its government counterparts to see for UNICEF following the widespread partici- clearly the results of the interventions, and im- pation of young people in the April and June prove interventions or policy to iron out any bar- violence in 2010. Engagement of young people riers or bottlenecks revealed. from income-poor, remote, and minority ethnic backgrounds is crucial for the Ministry of Youth Meanwhile, the links promoted in UNICEF be- if youth policy is not to be dictated by the inter- tween activities at community level and liaison ests of the elite. with senior officials in line Ministries at national level will enable the gaps in knowledge and In order for equity to be achievable, a neces- understanding between officials and the popu- sary condition is the gathering of disaggregated lation facing disparities and the national level data to inform evidence-based policymaking policy-makers to be bridged in a way that can and budgeting on youth and children’s issues, bring about sustainable improvements. including child poverty. This is one of the key equity concerns that will be addressed as part Likewise, there will also be a focus on bridging of the new country programme. gaps between sectors. To achieve reductions in child and maternal mortality, for example, re- The development of alliances for children is an- quires not just healthcare interventions, but also other important measure to bring about equity. communications and awareness-raising among Sharing of information and channels for advo- the population, and efforts to ensure that the cacy between government bodies, civil society most vulnerable families receive adequate so- and the media can be used to ensure that equi- cial services and the government benefits to ty is promoted among key decision makers and which they are entitled. opinion formers. Limited access to information is a particularly important disparity facing dis- advantaged groups in Kyrgyzstan. In addition, UNICEF will continue its work with media to en- sure that the voices of children that have faced discrimination or stigma on grounds of ethnic origin, disability, or other status can be heard in a positive manner.

20 In conclusion: expected impact of equity programming As global research has shown, investment in the poorest yields the greatest results. An equity- focused approach is essential if Kyrgyzstan is to meet the Millennium Development Goals. This has necessitated a shift in strategy by UNICEF and its development partners, as reflected in the Country Programme Document 2012-2016. The new country programme for Kyrgyzstan is designed to use a wide variety of approaches to meet the inequity challenges facing the coun- try’s children and young people. The new focus on working at the level of particularly vulnerable communities should address both geographi- cal disparities and inequities within these mu- nicipalities themselves. UNICEF will also work at the national level to ensure that legislation and government resources are allocated equi- tably to address key concerns. Supporting the production of disaggregated data, and devel- oping strong alliances to assist and empower the most disadvantaged children and young people is also crucial. With its new equity focus in place, UNICEF will support the implementa- tion of strategies to address the root causes of inequity in Kyrgyzstan and to reach the most deprived children with basic services, care, and protection. This is their right.

21 Annex 1. The selection of municipalities for Component 2 of 2012-2016 Country Programme

The country team has to date selected 23 mu- • Maternal and child mortality rates nicipalities in which to implement community- • Access to education, including preschool based activities. The municipalities are located education in remote districts or in areas that were affected • Access to water and sanitation by the June 2010 conflict. The choice of dis- • Conflict-affected tricts followed review of a number of selection Within these nine districts, a total of 23 particu- criteria including: larly vulnerable municipalities were selected af- • Child poverty rates ter UNICEF discussions with district authorities, • Geographical remoteness and infrastructure and after verification of information26.

Province District Municipalities

Batken Leylek Ak-Suu, Sumbulin Batken Kyshtut, Daryin, Suu-Bashi Kadamjay Ak-Turpak, Birlik Osh Kara-Suu Shark, Nariman Aravan Teo-Moyun, Kerme-Too Jalalabad Suzak Kyz-Kol, Kyzyl-Tuu, Suzak Bazar-Korgon Mogol, Taldy-Bulak, Kyzyl-Unkyur Naryn Jumgal Chaek, Baizak, Kok-Oy Issyk Kul Tyup Chong-Tash, Aral, Karasaev

28 UNOSAT – IMPACTREACHMapping Platform (http://www.reach-initiative.org/kyrgyzstan)

22 Annex 2. Map of Kyrgyzstan with selected municipalities for equity focused programming

23 For every child Health, Education, Equality, Protection ADVANCE HUMANITY

United Nations Children’s Fund UN Common Premises in the Kyrgyz Republic 160, Prospect Chui,720040, Bishkek Kyrgyz Republic Telephone 996 312 611 211 + ext 996 312 611 224 ...7 Facsmile 996 312 611 191 [email protected] www.unicef.org/kyrgyzstan 24 © The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) APRIL 2012