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Tajikistan
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| Objective |
SO Number |
FY 2004 |
FY 2005 |
FY 2006 |
| Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Program |
119-0131 |
4,402 |
3,525 |
4,581 |
| Energy and Water |
119-0161 | 857 |
1,470 |
1,350 |
| Democratic Culture and Institutions |
119-0211 | 6,215 |
3,475 |
4,600 |
| Conflict Prevention |
119-0240 |
1,498 |
780 |
718 |
| Health and Population |
119-0320 |
5,265 |
3,593 |
4,232 |
| Improved Quality of and Access to Basic Education |
119-0340 |
300 |
230 |
212 |
| Cross-Cutting Programs |
119-0420 |
1,522 |
1,790 |
1,647 |
| Transfers |
|
4,392 |
12,137 |
7,660 |
| Total (in thousands of dollars) |
24,451 |
27,000 |
25,000 |
| Excludes P.L. 480. See Program Annex. | | |
|
The Development Challenge:
Tajikistan continues to play a pivotal role as a U.S. ally in Central Asia with respect to the Global War on Terror and the cessation of counter narcotics trade. Tajikistan was the poorest republic within the Soviet Union and today is the poorest country in the region. According to the World Bank, nearly two thirds of the population (64%) lives below the poverty line. Economic growth has remained constant and is above 8% annually since 1999. This impressive growth is attributable to three factors unrelated to sustainable structural economic reforms: the cessation of the civil war, the initial impact of macroeconomic stability, and the large increase in remittances from migrant workers. However, national unemployment remained fairly stable at about 12% to 15% during this same period. Employment in the agriculture sector, unskilled labor markets, and family workers all increased with a comparable decline in employment in manufacturing, transport, health, education, and social work. According to Transparency International, Tajikistan continues to fall within the bottom 10% of countries worldwide in its control of corruption (133 of 145), largely attributed to its failure to address administrative reform and weak public institutional structures.
Russia recently began the process of demobilizing its border guards along the 1,400 kilometer Tajik border with Afghanistan. The border is highly porous and inconsistently patrolled, which makes the Russians' departure worrisome given the poorly-equipped and trained Tajik border control unit. Narcotics trafficking remains a significant problem as heroin producers use Tajikistan as a primary transit route for exports to Russia and Europe. Poor government expenditures in the social sector, and particularly in education, are also of growing concern. The number of students attending school is declining, from 90% in 2000 to 88% in 2003. In rural areas (73% of the country), twice as many girls drop out of school as boys because families place little value on the poor quality of education and there is a lack of jobs post-graduation. The resurgence of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) are other worrisome trends. With regard to TB, the actual number of people infected is probably five times higher than the official figure and more deaths are occurring due to the disease.
In spite of the problems it faces, the Government of Tajikistan (GOT) continues to press for reforms in notable areas. Buoyed by increased donor support, the GOT is moving on a broad front to improve the transition to a market economy through improved macroeconomic management and monetary policy, banking supervision, tax administration, and commercial law. Public spending on health and education has increased in real terms, primarily to meet salary increases. The GOT is implementing fundamental reforms in health care and education financing in pilot regions. The USAID program directly supports the GOT's reform agenda. It advances U.S. national interests to stem drug trafficking and promote political and social stability through democratic and economic reform, improved quality of life, and enhanced productive capacity.
The USAID Program:
USAID's seven strategic objectives in Tajikistan promote reforms and training that foster the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), promote civil society and expand access to information, improve primary health care and prevent infectious disease, encourage better use of the region's water and energy resources, improve primary education, mitigate or prevent conflict, and address cross-cutting issues such as gender, corruption, and youth. Elements of the program also address the Water for the Poor and Clean Energy Presidential Initiatives through work to improve water resource management at the national and local level and to promote efficient energy use. The specific activities to be funded by FY 2005 and FY 2006 appropriations are described in more detail in the following Program Data Sheets.
The Government's capacity to effect reform is considered weak due to the lack of trained staff. The private sector is poorly developed and continues to be constrained by inconsistent Government regulation. International non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in cooperation with local NGOs, are partially able to provide basic services at the community level. The design of this program is effectively building both public and private capacity to develop and implement public policies and reforms, particularly in the area of economic reform and regional trade, as well as at the local level where USAID is re-establishing links between communities and local government. Such efforts are critical to USAID's success in a country where neither businesses and communities nor government structures are accustomed to working together to address development needs.
USAID continues ongoing activities in Tajikistan such as fiscal reform, banking supervision, microfinance development, World Trade Organization (WTO) accession activities, customs reforms, identification and removal of investment constraints, restoration of primary irrigation infrastructure, local government, maternal, child, and reproductive health, drug demand reduction, and basic and civic education. USAID has initiated new activities relating to land tenure reform and infectious disease control and expanded programs in HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis and political party development.
Other Program Elements:
With funding from USAID's Child Survival Matching Grant Program, a very successful primary and reproductive health care activity is continuing in Penjikent District, which is cut off from the rest of Tajikistan by the closed Uzbekistan border to the east and mountain passes to the north and south that are closed six months per year. USAID's Office of Food for Peace has provided essential support for the World Food Program's school feeding and other vulnerable group feeding programs using P.L. 480 Title II resources. A recently-approved five-year, $60 million P.L. 480 Title II Development Assistance Program was awarded to a consortium of NGOs to further provide assistance to communities and schools for health activities. However, the demand for food aid in other regions of the world threatens the viability of this program. The Farmer-to-Farmer Program, also financed through P.L. 480 and managed by USAID's Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, has actively supported agriculture-related SME development efforts in Tajikistan. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance is undertaking a new regional earthquake preparedness project that targets Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Additionally, the Eurasia Foundation manages small grants in education, small business, local government, and civil society, which reinforce USAID's strategic objectives. The Departments of Commerce, Defense, Agriculture, and State also manage programs complementary to USAID field activities in exchange programs, training opportunities, support to border guards and customs officials, and emergency feeding programs through the World Food Program. For example, the State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor continue to collaborate closely with USAID in areas of mutual interest.
Other Donors:
The U.S. Government is the largest bilateral donor in Tajikistan. The second largest bilateral donor is Japan, which is active in the agricultural sector and implements food security and poverty reduction programs. The European Union has re-established its Technical Assistance for the Commonwealth of Independent States as well as a new food security program. These programs complement the European Union's continuing humanitarian assistance program funded through the European Community Humanitarian Office. Other bilateral donors include Switzerland, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The long-established Swiss program is closely coordinated with USAID efforts related to regional water programs, WTO accession, and judicial reform. Similarly, USAID has worked in close partnership with the newly-arrived Swedes and Canadians to ensure close coordination as they design their programs in agriculture and land reform areas. The largest non-state donor is the Aga Khan Development Network, which supports a number of economic development and educational activities throughout the country. Multilateral donors include the World Bank (health reform and private sector development), the Asian Development Bank (social service sector rehabilitation, transportation, irrigation, hydroelectric generation, and microfinance), Islamic Development Bank (road construction, energy sector rehabilitation, and school and irrigation rehabilitation), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (telecommunications, airport navigation, and microfinance). USAID works closely with the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank in land reform, microfinance, irrigation rehabilitation, health care reform, and basic education.
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