Uzbekistan

Overview

Poverty reduction is ADB's overarching goal.

ADB implements its poverty reduction goal in Uzbekistan through specifically directed and designed loan and technical assistance projects and through the use of funds made available by the Government of Japan through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR).

Of its total portfolio of 14 loan projects, one is classified as "core poverty intervention" - i.e., the Western Uzbekistan Rural Water Supply Project - and three are classified as "poverty intervention" - i.e., the Education Sector Development Program, the Small and Microfinance Development Project, and the Urban Water Supply Project.

In addition, one JFPR-assisted project, the Innovative Poverty Reduction in Karakalpakstan and one technical assistance grant, the Preparing a Comprehensive Medium Term Strategy for Improving the Living Standards of the People of Uzbekistan are targeted specifically for poor and vulnerable groups.

These projects and grants address poverty reduction across sectors.

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JFPR: Innovative Poverty Reduction in Karakalpakstan

This JFPR project addresses the two problems commonly affecting the poor: lack of employment opportunities and unsafe drinking water.

It will develop innovative approaches to income generation, and safe and sustainable drinking water schemes for poor communities in Karakalpakstan.

Over 300,000 people are expected to benefit from the project in a region where 50 to 70 percent of the 1.5 million population are poor and half lack access to drinking water.

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Western Uzbekistan Rural Water Supply

This project will improve living and health conditions of rural communities in Karakalpakstan and Khorezm.

It aims to improve access to safe water supply and minimize water wastage through the improvement of water supply and metering facilities, and institutional strengthening of potable water management.

It will also improve health conditions through the provision of sanitation facilities and encouragement of better hygiene practices. This project will include social measures to identify and mobilize community participation in subproject planning and implementation, monitoring of demand, and education on the value of water.

About 700,000 rural population in Karakalpakstan and Khorezm will directly benefit from the project, the majority of whom are poor and are suffering from the lack of safe drinking water that has been worsened by two years of recent drought.

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Education Sector Development Program

This program will support the implementation of Uzbekistan's medium term education and training development program by addressing four major sector-wide challenges:

1. modernizing the structure, content, and processes of education
2. improving sector sustainability and efficiency
3. reforming governance of education
4. providing protection for the poor

It will facilitate the implementation of urgent reform measures affecting the entire sector, and will fund key investments aimed at improving the quality of basic education and sector management practices.

Access of the poor to quality education will be protected by an improved targeting of public resources towards deprived areas, and special assistance schemes for vulnerable population groups throughout the country.

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Small and Microfinance Development Project

The primary goal of the project is to create a viable and sustainable institutional framework and mechanism for effective delivery of financial services particularly to the poor, women, low-income households, and small and micro enterprises.

It will

• develop an effective regulatory and institutional framework for savings and credit unions - SCUs
• set up an institutionally and financially sustainable network of 20 SCUs
• provide a credit line to commercial banks on lending to low-income households, micro enterprises, and SCUs

The SCU component is expected to cover 100,000 members by the end of project implementation period. One third of the SCUs' members will come from the poor, and in 5 out of 20 SCUs, at least fifty percent of the members will be women. Additional employment will be generated through small and micro enterprises created through this project.