Japan’s Ambassador, Mr. Hideki Goda, and the WFP Country Director, Mr. Kojiro Nakai, signed a grant agreement of ¥ 519 mn ($3.5 mn) to aid Kyrgyzstan’s vulnerable population. The global price surge led to increased food costs in Kyrgyzstan, causing economic hardship and reducing the purchasing power of the vulnerable population. As a result, 33% of the population lives in poverty, with another 7% at risk.
As part of the agreement, $3.5 mn will be allocated to assist low-income residents of Batken, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad, Naryn, and Osh regions. This will be done through the provision of basic infrastructure, supply of import-dependent food products (flour, vegetable oil), advanced training in the profession, entrepreneurship, and agriculture, and training for participants of the “Assistance based on a social contract” program throughout the republic.
Food insecurity is a pervasive issue across the nation, with rural areas being marginally more affected (10%) than urban regions (9%). A considerable number of households (74%) depend on livelihood-based coping mechanisms to fulfil their basic needs, marking a slight increase from the previous report in June 2023.
The employment of emergency and crisis coping strategies, which account for 42%, is closely linked to food insecurity. These strategies, however, are not economically or nutritionally sustainable. Concurrently, 32% of the populace continues to resort to these coping strategies, with a higher prevalence in rural inhabitants (78%) compared to their urban counterparts (67%).
A significant portion of the population (41%) persists in employing detrimental food coping strategies such as consuming less desirable or cheaper foods (34%), skipping meals (5%), or even going without food for an entire day and night (2%). The continued use of these strategies is progressively undermining the population’s resilience to malnutrition.
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