© Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, delivered 12 tons of core relief items to the National Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan to help people displaced by recent clashes along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic estimate over 136 thousand people have been displaced by the recent conflict which started on 14 September. Initial assessments carried out by the Ministry together with the Red Crescent reveal shelter, health, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene being among the priorities.
The humanitarian assistance includes blankets for nearly 5,000 people and over 6,000 jerrycans. Once the two trucks reached Osh, the items were donated to the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan for distribution to the most vulnerable people.
“When people have been forced to flee, they often take only what they can carry, if anything at all,” said Hans Friedrich Schodder, UNHCR Representative for Central Asia. “Our priority is to ensure the protection of those who have been displaced, including by providing them with the essential items that people need most in the first days after they have been forced to flee.”
The Ministry of Emergency Situations and UN Country Team in Kyrgyzstan have activated the Disaster Response Coordination Unit, an inter-agency coordination mechanism with participation of UN Agencies – including UNHCR – Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and non-governmental organizations, in support of the Government. UNHCR is leading the Protection Sector of this response and contributes to shelter and core relief items.
Already in stock in the Kyrgyz Republic are 174 prefabricated ‘Refugee Housing Units’, previously donated by UNHCR to the Red Crescent of Kyrgyzstan and the Ministry of Emergency Situations and which can provide temporary shelter to returnees while their damaged or destroyed homes are being repaired.
UNHCR opened its representation in Kyrgyzstan in 1995, supporting the government to protect and find solutions for forcibly displaced and stateless people, and respond to humanitarian emergencies. As of mid-2022, the Kyrgyz Republic hosts 306 refugees and 813 asylum seekers, most of whom fled Afghanistan and have been living peacefully in Kyrgyzstan for decades.
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