The fragility of the Kyrgyz economy has been at the heart of the country’s suffering under the coronavirus. The pandemic quickly exposed and exacerbated the pre-existing weaknesses, including the country’s empty coffers and households’ reliance on remittances from abroad and daily earnings. The situation worsened due to the lack of timely policy measures to prevent overburdening the health sector. Finally, serious allegations against high-ranking officials of embezzling pandemic aid remind us that corruption, together with incompetence, remains the most prominent factor undermining government capacity from within.

The crisis that overwhelmed state institutions revealed the resilience of civil society in Kyrgyzstan. Thousands of volunteers showed up to deliver food to starving families during the lockdown, raise funds to procure masks and oxygen systems, and eventually help doctors and nurses to handle the influx of patients in makeshift hospitals. The show of solidarity was reassuring at the moment of a crisis; yet it was also a reminder that a similar engagement and solidarity remains necessary to build a more effective, resilient, and accountable government.

The present report (click below to download) offers a comprehensive analysis of Kyrgyzstan’s fight against COVID-19. Completed in March 2021, it builds around three questions: a) what was the government’s strategy to address the pandemic; b) what were the successes and failures in the country’s fight against COVID-19; and c) what are the longer- term consequences of the pandemic for the future? The report looks at how key actors, including the government, civil society, private business, and international donors and partners, responded to the emergency. Specific attention is paid to the nature of successes and failures that the country faced in addressing the pandemic in 2020.

Dr Shairbek Dzhuraev is co-founder of Crossroads Central Asia.

The report was commissioned by Hanns Seidel Stiftung (HSS) and is part of the HSS series titled “Asia Fighting COVID-19”.

The post Kyrgyzstan’s fight against COVID-19 first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

The authors, Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, ENC Managing Director, Andreas Marazis, ENC Head of Research for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Shairbek Dzhuraev, co-founder and president of Crossroads Central Asia, examined the way vulnerable communities use different kinds of media in Central Asia, with a specific focus on social media. The research aimed at determining the information needs of labour migrants and their families, refugees, stateless people and ethnic minorities, as well as rural populations, youth, minorities and marginalised groups affected by the COVID-19 pandemic across Central Asia.

For more details, visit the ENC website.

The post Report released on the COVID-19 and media consumption in Central Asia first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

The post Podcast: the COVID-19 and political transition in Kyrgyzstan first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.