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UNHCR Handed over Emergency Sets to Strengthen Kyrgyzstan's Emergency Response

Osh, Kyrgyzstan, 5 November 2013 - The Representation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Kyrgyz Republic donated non-food items to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic worth over 400 thousand US dollars. These included about 22,000 fleece blankets, 15,000 collapsible jerry cans, 9,000 sleeping mats, 6,000 kitchen sets, 4,000 heavy duty plastic buckets, 700 light-weight tents, 640 plastic sheeting, and 5 generators.

On 5 November, at the official handover ceremony, the UNHCR Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Johann Siffointe said: "A fully capacitated Ministry is of paramount importance in a country such as Kyrgyzstan, which is located in a region susceptible to natural disasters and other potential man made emergencies".

The Kyrgyz Republic is a disaster-prone country due to its geographical location in an active seismic zone and its mountainous landscape. Earthquakes, landslides, mudflows and avalanches cause serious damage to both human life and the country's economy. Kyrgyzstan counts annually some 3,000 tremors and about 10-12 earthquakes, ten to a hundred landslides and around 60 glacier lake outbursts.
Taking over the donated items, the deputy Minister of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Nurdin Abdyldaev, expressed his gratitude to UNHCR for its outstanding support and technical assistance to the Ministry.

"Let me emphasize the assistance provided by UNHCR enables the Ministry to immediately respond to emergencies and, what is the most important, provide timely assistance to affected people," Mr.Nurdin Abdyldaev said.

UNHCR's Emergency response in 2010

UNHCR's emergency response following the June 2010 events met life-saving protection, shelter and non-food needs of internally displaced persons in Kyrgyzstan and of refugees in Uzbekistan. After obtaining security clearance, at the end of June 2010 UNHCR airlifted over 120 metric tonnes of aid to Osh and distributed it among displaced people in Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces. By August 2010, UNHCR had provided the conflict affected population with over 27,600 blankets, 5,300 kitchen sets, 9,600 jerry cans, 5,700 plastic sheets, 7,800 sleeping mats, 2,200 buckets, 1,600 mattresses, 2,600 family tents, and a variety of other non-food relief items. After the initial phase of emergency response, UNHCR, supported by various donors, rebuilt more than 1300 destroyed houses. Currently, the organization is focusing on activities aiming to prevent future displacement in the future by building trust and confidence among those affected by the 2010 events.

Emergency preparedness
In April 2013, UNHCR and the Ministry of Emergency Situations jointly convened a Contingency Planning Working Group Meeting in Issyk-Kul from 22 to 26 April. High-level officials from different government and UN agencies participated in a four-day workshop and drafted a contingency plan, which contains possible scenarios of refugee influx and strategies that help both UNCHR and the Ministry to prepare for such events.