Assistance by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security to the Project in the Republic of Uzbekistan

November 16, 2011
Japanese

The United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security, which was established through the initiative of the Government of Japan, decided to extend assistance totalling 3,944,787 US dollars (approximately 351 million yen) to a project entitled "Sustaining Livelihoods Affected by the Aral Sea Disaster", which is going to be implemented in the Republic of Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Environmental degradation in the areas surrounding the Aral Sea has had a profound effect on human security in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic situated in the West part of the Republic of Uzbekistan, where the population has long depended on the water from the Aral Sea. This project aims to improve economic, food, health and environmental security for the population of Karakalpakstan. The activities will include the following:
-- Increasing income generation opportunities and economic environmental security in target districts.
-- Enhancing the capacity of primary health care workers to address the health consequences of the environmental disaster and economic insecurity with a specific focus on addressing the needs of young people.
-- Enhancing the capacity of regional authorities to develop and implement economic, environmental, security and social policies aimed at welfare improvement of vulnerable groups.
This project is expected to promote the human security of rural communities of Karakalpakstan.

(*The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original press release in Japanese.)

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