Foreign Operations Assistance: Kazakhstan

United States Department of State
Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia
Foreign Operations Assistance Fact Sheet, April 2012 *

KAZAKHSTAN

United States Government (USG) assistance to Kazakhstan aims to increase the ability of the Government of Kazakhstan (GOK) to combat transnational threats, build capacity to implement judicial reform, increase the influence of civil society and media on public policy decision making, improve the trade and investment environment, and improve social services.

Recent Successes by Areas of Focus:

Peace & Security

• To help combat trafficking in persons (TIP), USG programs provided workshops for police officers, investigators, and health care professionals. Kazakhstan was upgraded from the Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 2 in the 2011 TIP Report.
• The USG provided construction and equipment support to police and border guards to increase their capacity in countering drug threats.
• USG programs provided training to increase the capability of Kazakhstani security forces to respond to terrorist attacks and manage investigations.
• Military training was also provided to address counterterrorism and countering violent extremism by assisting Kazakhstan’s maritime units in addressing seaborne terrorism threats.

Governing Justly and Democratically

• BY ACCOUNT	FY 2011 ACTUAL	FY 2012 ESTIMATE	FY 2013 REQUEST
  TOTAL ($000s)	$17,567	$18,785	$14,900
  Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia	$10,400	$14,100	0
  Economic Support Fund	0	0	$6,892
  Foreign Military Financing	$2,395	$1,800	$1,800
  Global Health Programs- USAID	$1,996	$400	$2,500
  International Military Education and Training	876	785	$707
  International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement	$0	$0	$1,471
  Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Programs	$1,900	$1,700	$1,530

  USG judicial reform programs developed recommendations to the Supreme Court on how to strengthen preparation courses for new justices and continuing education for existing justices. These recommendations are expected to inform the 2012-2016 Judicial Education Strategy, which guides the activities of courts and instruction by universities.
• The USG supported the continued monitoring of the implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan for 2009-2012.
• USG support for a satellite news exchange project enabled 22 private television stations in Kazakhstan to increase the amount of locally-produced content with the aim of more objective news coverage.
• Over 400 civil society organizations (CSOs) and civil activists benefited from USG educational and informational support. Robust advocacy, drawing upon legal knowledge, and policy expertise within programs, was critical in securing passage of improvements in the law on state social contracting, a GOK procurement mechanism which awards grants to CSOs to provide much-needed services to the public.

Investing in People

• BY OBJECTIVE	FY 2011 ACTUAL	FY 2012 ESTIMATE	FY 2013 REQUEST
  TOTAL ($000s)	$17,567	$18,785	$14,900
  Peace and Security	$7,418	$6,245	$5,758
  Governing Justly and Democratically	$3,811	$3,760	$2,742
  Investing in People	$3,829	$1,500	$2,500
  Economic Growth	$2,509	$7,280	$3,900

  In FY 2011, USG programs provided health sector capacity building activities for national and local implementation.Activities included effective perinatal care and antenatal care training; mentoring, monitoring, and the introduction of best practices to improve quality of care for mothers and newborns; educational materials on family planning, and integrated management of childhood illness. As a result of national adoption of clinical practice guidelines for effective perinatal care, approximately 34,000 people received active management assistance during the third stage of labor. This was twice the baseline number of 16,800. Over 17,000 people most at-risk for HIV received prevention messages and referrals to services and 1,431 people were referred for HIV testing. TB prevention messages and referrals to TB services were received by 9,512 people, and 992 TB tests were administered to at-risk populations.

Economic Growth

• Activities in the area of economic growth are co-funded by the GOK and the USG, with two-thirds of the funding ($3 million) coming from Kazakhstan.
• USG activities with public officials and businesspeople on trade and investment reform resulted in significant improvement in the country’s business environment, and lower costs for doing business across borders, illustrated by Kazakhstan’s continued improvement in the World Bank’s Doing Business Survey.
• USG programs supported the implementation of transport agreements that facilitated the movement of goods across borders through harmonized legislation and procedures that allowed Kazakhstan truck cargos to gain unrestricted access to Europe.
• USG assistance was instrumental in supporting the Accounts Committee, Kazakhstan’s supreme audit institution, to adopt international public audit standards.
• USG programs provided Kazakhstan assistance with World Trade Organization accession requirements and the revision of key policy documents.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Coordinator's Office Annual Reports
http://kazakhstan.usembassy.gov/
www.foreignassistance.gov;
Millennium Challenge Corporation

*This fact sheet does not reflect Peace Corps funding or centrally managed or regional Foreign Operations funding that is not specifically budgeted. for Kazakhstan.