Helping Families Prosper

Tajikistan remains the poorest nation in Central Asia. With a ranking of 112 out of 169 on the Human Development Index, it struggles with extreme poverty, corruption and isolation. The civil war (1992-97) severely damaged the country’s already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. Uneven implementation of structural reforms and widespread unemployment have kept the economy in a fragile condition.

Recent severe winters, coupled with a spike in food and fuel prices, have affected the entire nation. Crops have failed, with families forced to sell productive assets such as livestock and household coping mechanisms in debilitating conditions. Food security has worsened, as high prices and an estimated 60 percent drop in remittances – the backbone of the economy, responsible for half the country’s GDP – throw families into crisis.

Islamic extremism, cross-border drug flows, and global economic shocks threaten to destabilize the country even more. Young men are at highest risk of extremism and are seeing drastically reduced opportunities for labor migration, forcing them to stay or return home, limiting their options in providing a source of income for their families.

Mercy Corps’ Community-Based Approach
Mercy Corps has worked in Tajikistan since 1994 and has successfully applied our community based approach to improve local conditions and overcome challenges. A recent study of our past community mobilization programs clearly demonstrated their effectiveness, with most communities still applying the organizational principles taught by Mercy Corps years after programs ended. We have also been successful in improving the health and food security of mothers and children. We are continuing to pursue a strategy that focuses on such community-based initiatives, including livelihood and life skills programs that help disaffected youth reconnect with their homes and communities. Most of our current programs focus on economic development, infrastructure rehabilitation and health. Mercy Corps helps empower communities with the tools for resilience to the country’s challenges and uses education to improve the health of young girls and boys in the most vulnerable areas.

Strengthening Economic & Infrastructure Development
Mercy Corps’ Tajikistan Stability Enhancement Program (TSEP) mobilizes a community-based response to meet challenges in 62 rural communities of Sugdh, the Rasht and Tavildara Valleys, and southwestern Khatlon. Mercy Corps is strengthening stability in rural Tajikistan through improved governance and the participation of ‘at-risk’ or marginalized groups in economic and social revitalization.

Mercy Corps, along with local partners, implements community projects focused on water, land and energy use with participation from Community Action Groups (CAGs), community members chosen to lead implementation by their peers. Projects range from installing irrigation pipes for agriculture development and food security, generators for electricity and vocational trainings in barbery and sewing for men and women, respectively. TSEP’s aim is to directly target community needs with participation from beneficiaries to promote ownership and strengthen economic development.

Improving Health
Through a USAID-funded project, Mercy Corps has been implementing a five-year program with an aim to reduce infant and maternal mortality by improving the health of women and of children under the age of five years. The project is in its second year of implementation in the Mastchoh, Taboshar, Gonchi districts of Sughd Oblast and in the Hissor district, as well as districts of Asht, Shahristan, Spitamen and Zafarabad, with limited activities in continuation of a preceding USAID-funded Child Survival Program. As the target districts are considered to be underserved areas, the MCH Project encourages greater government engagement in issues of mother and child health and promotes the adoption of healthy behaviors and key interventions. The goal and objectives are to be achieved by building the capacity of the district level Department of Health (DoH) towards addressing the challenges of sustainable and quality service delivery, and promoting behavior change and community mobilization.

In addition, the program is using education to promote healthy practices through the Child-to-Child component of the program. The goal of Child-to-Child (CtC) is to improve children’s health status and knowledge by encouraging them to play an active role in the process of health promotion and development in their communities. First, mentoring teachers are trained on basic health topics such as hygiene, hand washing, diarrhea, and prevention of parasites/worms. Then, teachers train older students (grade 7-10), to pass their knowledge onto younger students using creative and interactive teaching methods. CtC has been overwhelmingly successful throughout target district schools with support from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education.

Our MCH program also assists rural health facilities to increase their capacity to provide preventive and primary health care. We are especially focusing on improving diagnostic capacities for childhood illness, pre- and post-natal care, nutrition, diarrhea treatment and prevention and counseling for breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding.

Mercy Corps has mobilized communities to identify, manage and address health concerns through representative community-based organizations. We’re also creating networks of male and female community health promoters with direct links to households and health facilities to provide health education and home visits. Community education encourages families to take greater responsibility for their own health.