UNDP reports highlight Semipalatinsk

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan has launched two separate reports on the plight of those living around the former nuclear testing site of Semipalatinsk, 500 km east of the capital, Astana. "Health problems remain serious and health infrastructure is inadequate," Yuriko Shoji, UNDP resident representative in Kazakhstan told IRIN from the commercial capital Almaty. "Vulnerable social groups such as the disabled, pensioners, orphans, etc, are receiving inadequate social welfare support and social services, and lack opportunities to generate income," she maintained. Her comments coincide with Wednesday's release of two separate reports by the UN agency: the Final Evaluation of UNDP Semipalatinsk Programme Outcomes, as well as the photo book Overcoming Poverty in Semipalatinsk - A Message in Pictures. "The photo book is showing various ways out of poverty with short general information on how poverty can be reduced," Shoji explained, noting the personal experiences of people who had benefited from UNDP's efforts. Although the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site was shut down in 1991, the socio-economic consequences, as well as health and environmental implications for people's lives remain a matter of serious concern. In November 1998, the UN General Assembly, recognising the problems affecting the region, declared Semipalatinsk a zone of heightened attention and appealed to donor countries for assistance. Over the last two and a half years, the UNDP Semipalatinsk programme, comprised of a small grants project, a micro credit project for women and a business advisory centre project, has worked to alleviate poverty, raise living standards, and empower people in the area. According to a UNDP statement on the reports, over 100 initiatives of local non-governmental and community organisations in 50 villages were financed through the small grants project. With grant sums ranging from US $500 to $5,000, the project helped rural communities independently address their social, environmental, health and other problems. Grants were used to acquire medical equipment for hospitals, install heating system in schools, install water pumps in villages, renovate cultural houses and organise trainings. As unemployment and low wages are the main causes of poverty in Kazakhstan, the micro-credit project was designed specifically to help small-scale entrepreneurs, especially women, who had no access to traditional finance instruments. Around 4,000 entrepreneurs benefitted from the project, and most clients' businesses have increased their turnover between two and seven times and become more profitable. Bereke, a micro-credit organisation founded within the project, has become self-sustainable and will continue its operations after the programme closes. The Business Advisory Centre project provided consultations and training for small-scale and starting entrepreneurs. It has shown the real need for business advisory services that are affordable and relevant to individual entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises. "It has shown that there is a real need for business advisory services that are affordable and relevant to individual entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises," she said. Semipalatinsk Programme was funded by the Government of Japan who contributed $1.1 million through the Trust Fund for the Semipalatinsk Relief and Rehabilitation Programme. This Fund was created by UNDP in response to the UN resolutions calling for international assistance to the area that suffered from nuclear tests between 1941 and 1991, and economic crisis that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. "As the situation in Semipalatinsk remains quite serious and much remains to be done, the government of Kazakhstan and the international donor community need to reconfirm their commitments to Semipalatinsk," the UNDP official said. "The results outlined in these two publications we are presenting now also point to how the UNDP Semipalatinsk Programme shows good examples that can be implemented in other parts of Kazakhstan."