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Cases of Hepatitis, Measles and influenza Spiking across Central Asia

Central Asian countries are experiencing outbreaks of various diseases, including seasonal ones such as influenza, and non-seasonal illnesses including measles and hepatitis. First on the list is Kazakhstan, where an outbreak of measles has been circulating since November 2023. In that month alone, it affected 17,000 people, 82% of whom were children. In December, that figure grew to 19,000 cases. For the most part, the government bemoaned the fact that the population was reluctant to get vaccinated, imploring people to do so as a matter of urgency. However, opponents of vaccination actively expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the Indian vaccine purchased by the authorities. In early 2024, the Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis of Kyrgyzstan reported an outbreak of the same disease. As of February 6th, 2,436 cases had been identified. Health organizations in the country have expressed their intention to strengthen routine immunization, vaccinate those who come into contact with sick people, and increase preventive vaccination coverage with a focus on parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Kyrgyzstan also experienced a measles crisis in 2023. During that year, 7,000 cases of the disease were detected in the country - of which nine cases in children proved fatal. At the same time, Uzbekistan was hit by another disease - Hepatitis A. In just a month and a half in 2024, 9,507 children contracted the disease. According to data released by the Sanitary and Epidemiological Committee, 365,167 children have received the hepatitis vaccine in the past 12 months, which prevents transmission of the virus in 94-98% of cases. Uzbekistan has also supported Turkmenistan, with medicines, where there is a different outbreak; the flu has already taken the lives of 33 children, as the Times of Central Asia has previously reported. Currently, it's children aged five to seven who are most at risk. However, after a sharp outbreak in which doctors lacked medicines and hospital beds for new and returning patients, the incidence rates are now on a downward trajectory. In addition to Turkmenistan, the flu has also hit Tajikistan. According to the Ministry of Health there, pneumonia - which has symptoms very similar to Covid-19 - has increased dramatically, prompting confused reports that the "Coronavirus is coming back." However, medical officials refuted this, saying the country is simply experiencing a seasonal increase in the incidence of influenza type a/(H1N1)pdm09, which often leads to pneumonia.

Central Asia Uzbekistan Environment Environment Uzbekistan Features

Water Crisis in Uzbekistan: an interview with Eco-journalist Nargis Kosimova

For a long time now, there have been murmurs about the growing problem of water shortages in Uzbekistan. Every citizen is likely to remember, at the very least, public service announcements on television with calls to conserve water. Still, the issue began to really attract people’s attention after the last, rather unexpected hike in cold tariffs. Was this an indication of the situation deteriorating? What is going on with water resources, and what should we expect moving forward? To find out, we talked to Nargis Kosimova, an eco-journalist, teacher, media trainer, and doctor of philology, who has come to fame as the author of Ekolog.uz. What is the current situation with drinking water in Uzbekistan? The problem with water resources is particularly serious in Uzbekistan, now. Experts say that by 2030, the water deficit could reach 7 billion cubic meters, and this could double by 2050. Unfortunately, the climate is changing at a rapid pace. Our key rivers, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya have seen their discharge decline 20% in just 50 years. Currently, we are also seeing dust storms and droughts, which are exacerbating the problem of water scarcity. The result may be a rise in the cost of fresh water and, consequently, food prices, with the entire economy of the country affected in turn. For example, over the past 15 years, the amount of water used per person in Uzbekistan has roughly halved from 3,000 cubic meters in 2008 to 1,500 cubic meters by the end of 2022. Nevertheless, water consumption per capita is still very high. for example, in Germany each person uses just 312 cubic meters of water each year, meaning that even though they have plentiful resources, Germans conserve a lot of water. Last year, we conducted a training session which was attended by 60 farmers. Unfortunately, not one of them, as they told us, had switched to water-saving technologies. when asked why not, they gave a wide range of answers, from a lack of money to the phrase, “Why [should we] if there is still water?” What measures can be taken to help avoid a water crisis? Many experts highlight drip irrigation as an effective way to rationally utilize resources. Even the Ministry of Water Resources noted that switching to this system would significantly reduce the stress on the country’s reserves. and at the same time, yields would increase significantly. Increasing prices on drinking water can also help avoid a crisis situation, while control over water usage should also be strengthened. A 100% transition to water-saving technologies in agriculture is needed, as well as protecting rivers from erosion. In Uzbekistan, starting on May 1st, an indefinite moratorium on the extraction of ore from the beds of large rivers will come into effect. Increasing construction and urbanization have led to almost uncontrolled extraction of sand and gravel, as a result of which riverbeds have been nearly degraded and the water has practically disappeared from these rivers. Moreover, it is not just water that...

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Endangered Fish Species in the Amu Darya Basin May Disappear Due to Hydropower Plants

The 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals is being held this week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The international environmental coalition Rivers Without Boundaries is calling on conference participants to pay serious attention to how the rampant construction of dams and reservoirs across Central Asia is leading to population declines and the complete extinction of endangered (red-listed) species. Rivers Without Boundaries experts point to the long-suffering Amu Darya river basin as an example: the alteration of its flow as a result of reservoirs and dams that change the hydrological regime and block fish migration routes was the most important reason for the Convention on Migratory Species to take under its protection the large Amu Darya sturgeon, a unique sturgeon adapted to live in the fast and turbid waters of the Vakhsh, Pyandj and Amu Darya. Its close relative, the Syr Darya sturgeon, is already considered extinct by most experts, due to the creation of numerous dams and reservoirs on the Syr Darya and its tributaries. Nevertheless, as experts from the Rivers Without Boundaries coalition emphasize, the recent World Bank assessment of the environmental impact of the construction of the Rogun hydropower plant in the Amu Darya basin does not consider the state of populations and the possible impact of changes in river flow on rare species of fish in the lower Vakhsh and the Amu Darya itself. Another example cited by ecologists is the Aral salmon (listed in the Red Book of Tajikistan), which once migrated along the Amu Darya and the Vakhsh, but since the creation of the Tuyamuyun hydro system and the Vakhsh group of hydropower plants has now completely disappeared from the area. Scientists found a last grouping of Aral salmon in the Nurek reservoir, but this too is likely to disappear as a result of the construction of the Rogun hydropower station upstream, as this will simply leave the salmon with no rivers in which to spawn. "Despite the requirements of national legislation regarding environmental impact assessment and protection of rare species, in all Central Asian countries, rivers - as well as their valleys, and the fauna and flora that depend on their ecological health - are massively sacrificed to the implementation of poorly justified hydraulic engineering projects," points out Evgeny Simonov, the international coordinator for Rivers Without Boundaries. "To date, when designing and building most dams throughout the region, no one is seriously trying to prevent damage to populations of rare migratory species." "Refusal to consider the potential impacts of hydropower plants on rare migratory species and natural ecosystems is not only a gross violation of international environmental conventions, but also often contradicts the environmental policy of those development banks that are going to lend money to build reservoirs," emphasizes Alexander Kolotov, Central Asia coordinator of the Rivers Without Boundaries environmental coalition. “We hope that the discussions during the conference in Samarkand will lead to the introduction of more responsible approaches to the selection of sites...

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Uzbekistan Continues Switching Public Transport to Electric-Powered

Uzbekistan is charging ahead in 2024 on a course it began a few years ago to modernize public transport systems. Metro lines have been completed and several new stations opened in both remote and densely populated areas of Tashkent, and a plan is being developed to bring the most environmentally-friendly form of urban transport, the streetcar back to the capital. The bus fleet in Tashkent has also been significantly upgraded; now, it's mostly comprised of newer, more comfortable buses and electric buses. Against a background of serious air quality problems, the issue of reducing the number of cars on the roads has become particularly urgent. Thus, in the capital and other major cities, authorities are opting for electric modes of urban transport. The first bus powered by electricity hit the streets of Tashkent back in 2019. Last year, officials in the capital agreed to purchase 2,000 buses from China: half of them will be used in the regions and the rest in Tashkent. In early 2024, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) issued a loan to Uzbekistan to buy 100 Yutong electric buses from China for the Samarkand Region. Tashkent will buy 673 electric buses - out of 1,063 total planned purchases - by 2025. From now on, only electric buses will be purchased for Uzbekistan's capital. By 2025, their share of the public transport mix of Tashkent should be 49%. It is a major component that city authorities are counting on as part of a plan to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, reduce noise levels in the city, and improve transport safety. Uzbekistan plans to not only buy pre-assembled buses but to also produce its own. a memorandum has been signed with Lanzhou Guangtong New Energy Automobile of China to start the joint production of 2,000 electric buses annually in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan's continued efforts at electrification of the public transport network comes against a backdrop of the low headline costs of using that transport. Numbeo, the world's largest database on the cost of living, publishes data on the cost of public transportation in different countries. according to their data, the cost of a one-way fare in Uzbekistan is $0.13. In Kazakhstan, the fare is slightly more at $0.20. Currently, there is no data on other Central Asian republics. The top three are most expensive places are Switzerland ($4), Norway ($3.76), and the Netherlands ($3.66).

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Potential Water Crisis in Uzbekistan: An Interview with Eco-journalist Nargis Kosimova

For a long time now, there have been murmurs about the growing problem of water shortages in Uzbekistan. Every citizen is likely to remember, at the very least, public service announcements on television with calls to conserve water. Still, the issue began to really attract people’s attention after the last, rather unexpected hike in cold tariffs. Was this an indication of the situation deteriorating? What is going on with water resources, and what should we expect moving forward? To find out, we talked to Nargis Kosimova, an eco-journalist, teacher, media trainer, and doctor of philology, who has come to fame as the author of Ekolog.uz. What is the current situation with drinking water in Uzbekistan? The problem with water resources is particularly serious in Uzbekistan, now. Experts say that by 2030, the water deficit could reach 7 billion cubic meters, and this could double by 2050. Unfortunately, the climate is changing at a rapid pace. Our key rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, have seen their discharge decline 20% in just 50 years. Currently, we are also seeing dust storms and droughts, which are exacerbating the problem of water scarcity. The result may be a rise in the cost of fresh water and, consequently, food prices, with the entire economy of the country affected in turn. For example, over the past 15 years, the amount of water used per person in Uzbekistan has roughly halved from 3,000 cubic meters in 2008 to 1,500 cubic meters by the end of 2022. Nevertheless, water consumption per capita is still very high. For example, in Germany each person uses just 312 cubic meters of water each year, meaning that even though they have plentiful resources, Germans conserve a lot of water. Last year, we conducted a training session which was attended by 60 farmers. Unfortunately, not one of them, as they told us, had switched to water-saving technologies. When asked why not, they gave a wide range of answers, from a lack of money to the phrase, “why [should we] if there is still water?” What measures can be taken to help avoid a water crisis? Many experts highlight drip irrigation as an effective way to rationally utilize resources. Even the Ministry of Water Resources noted that switching to this system would significantly reduce the stress on the country’s reserves. And at the same time, yields would increase significantly. Increasing prices on drinking water can also help avoid a crisis situation, while control over water usage should also be strengthened. A 100% transition to water-saving technologies in agriculture is needed, as well as protecting rivers from erosion. In Uzbekistan, starting on May 1st, an indefinite moratorium on the extraction of ore from the beds of large rivers will come into effect. Increasing construction and urbanization has led to almost uncontrolled extraction of sand and gravel, as a result of which riverbeds have been nearly degraded and the water has practically disappeared from these rivers. Moreover, it is not just water that has...

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Shares of Air Astana Begin Trading on Local and London Bourse

Early trading in shares of Kazakhstan's air carrier, Air Astana, began today on securities exchanges in Astana and London as part of an initial public offering (IPO). Trading in Air Astana's global depositary receipts (GDRs) -- a tool used by foreign investors to trade local shares of a company -- also started using the company's common shares on the Astana International Exchange (AIX), priced in U.S. dollars. Price quotes are published on the AIX's website. "Freedom Broker acted as a market-maker on [the AIX]. Early trades turned into main trades after completion of settlements and distribution of securities to investors' accounts in the depository system, in accordance with the applications submitted during the IPO period," reads an official statement. According to the results of early trading, the final price of Air Astana's initial public offering was 1,073.83 tenge per share and $9.5 per GDR, putting the estimated market capitalization of the company at about $847 million at the start of trading. As part of Air Astana's IPO, shareholders BAE Systems of the U.K. sold 7,533,109 GDRs and Kazakh national wealth fund Samruk Kazyna sold 60,393,877 shares (with an additional issue). BAE Systems sold 14,187,643 GDRs on the international market . Gross proceeds from the offering are estimated at about $350-370 million -- of which about $120 million will be used by the airline itself to finance its growth strategy. The main public auction for Air Astana securities is scheduled for February 15 and will be held on the AIX, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE, Almaty), and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).