KYRGYZSTAN: Poor hit hardest by rising food prices, energy crisis

Photo: Aikanysh Tashtankulova/IRIN

Last year’s harsh winter followed by low rainfall in the spring and summer of 2008 led to a depletion of Kyrgyzstan’s hydroelectric resources

OSH/BISHKEK, 8 December 2008 (IRIN) - "No electricity, no life", says Asan Kojomkulov, 58, an unemployed resident of Kyzyl-Bairak village near the southern Kyrgyz town of Osh. "There are regular blackouts every day; it is very difficult to manage without power."

Kojomkulov told IRIN there is no electricity in their village for 12 hours a day: 1200-1800 and 000-0600. "Luckily, we just recently got connected to the natural gas grid and we can cook and heat water thanks to that. However, those who don't have natural gas are in a very difficult situation," he said.

His family of four is dependent on his wife's monthly pension of US$40. "This winter we will have to use gas or coal for heating both of which are several times more expensive than electricity. My wife's pension is only enough to go to the market every two weeks to buy food. How will we manage to pay for the gas or coal?" he asked.

"It is very tough. Either we buy food, which has become very expensive, or pay for heating and go to bed hungry," Kojomkulov said.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 many Kyrgyz households switched to electricity for heating. The country is endowed with rich hydro-electric resources, and government policy has been to expand hydro-electric power. At the same time, the old central heating systems of Soviet times either fell into disrepair for lack of investment or became too expensive as Soviet oil and gas prices gave way to much higher world market prices.

Asel Mukaeva, 60, a Bishkek resident and retired postal worker, said: “The pension I get is 1500 soms [about $40], and my husband’s is 1700 soms [about $43]. Almost all of it is spent on utility bills... We can only afford the cheapest food,” she said.

Photo: Gulnara Mambetalieva/IRIN

Bread prices will go up 15-20 percent and electricity 20 percent in 2009, according to officials

Food prices up

According to the National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan, food prices rose 25 percent from January to September 2008, and they look set to go on rising.

Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan Suyerkul Abdybaly tegin told journalists in Bishkek: “Bread and bakery food prices will go up 15-20 percent and electricity 20 percent in 2009.”

“Food price rises are keenly felt in our daily life," said the leader of local NGO Tabigat, Anara Dootalieva. “If the elderly even in Issyk-Ata District, which is one hour from the capital, can barely make ends meet, how are people in remote areas managing? Is it possible to survive on their pensions? Prices will keep going up,” said Anara.

Flash appeal

According to the UN’s Kyrgyzstan flash appeal released on 28 November, acute humanitarian needs now exist.

Last year’s harsh winter followed by low rainfall in the spring and summer of 2008 led to a depletion of the country’s hydroelectric resources on which Kyrgyzstan depends for 92.5 percent of its electricity.

Soaring food and fuel prices, adverse weather conditions and declining remittances further limited the purchasing power of the most vulnerable, and contributed to a precarious food security situation for some, the appeal said.

The October 2008 World Food Programme emergency food security assessment revealed that one in five households face a high nutritional and health risk because of poor food consumption. Based on these and other assessments, an estimated 800,000 people are considered vulnerable to the effects of energy and food insecurity.

Most at risk are the extremely poor; homeless people; street children; people living in institutions; people living in remote locations; and people who lack proper documentation, which makes them ineligible for many of the existing social protection schemes.

The objective of the appeal, which is seeking $20,635,263, is to respond to actual and imminent humanitarian needs by focusing on the most vulnerable groups or institutions (like hospitals and orphanages) between December 2008 and May 2009. The largest chunk of the sum requested, $8.9 million, is earmarked for food aid.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a low-income country with a gross national income per capita of $600 in 2007 and the poverty rate is 35 percent, according to the World Bank.

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