June 4, 2023, marked 30 years of partnership between the World Bank and Tajikistan. Since then, the World Bank has provided over $2.8 billion to the country, helping to improve infrastructure, education, healthcare, poverty reduction, and more.
And this support has produced tangible impact for communities across Tajikistan, including:
The Tajikistan Higher Education Project benefitted over 28,000 students and 2,800 teachers across all of the country’s universities by improving the learning environment, boosting skills development, upgrading academic programs, and supporting female student enrollment.
The World Bank supported rehabilitation of schools and provision of school equipment in rural regions, which benefited over 110,000 schoolchildren. Around nine million copies of textbooks published with the World Bank’s support helped reduce shortages by more than 40%.
With support from the World Bank and other development partners, the Government of Tajikistan established a National Testing Center and introduced a unified university entrance examination to promote greater transparency in university admissions. In just the first year of introducing this reform, the intake of girls increased by 10%, while admissions for students from rural areas rose 40%.
With World Bank support, Tajikistan’s rural Vose District improved its water supply by fully rehabilitating three water supply systems that provide services for 74,000 people and building two new facilities.
The World Bank-supported Agriculture Commercialization Project has contributed to expanding opportunities for Tajik farmers and enterprises to enhance their productivity and income, particularly for women farmers who often face barriers when managing businesses in rural areas.
Since 2017 the World Bank has supported 130 agricultural start-ups totaling $1.8 million, including 90 launched by youth, 35 by women, and five by persons with disabilities.
The World Bank-supported Agriculture Commercialization Project supported over 2,800 farmers, nearly half of them women, with grants worth $4 million to boost their yields, expand businesses, and improve their access to domestic and regional markets.
World Bank investments are supporting more resilient infrastructure to withstand climate change in two of Tajikistan’s most vulnerable provinces: the Khatlon Region and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO). So far, over 650,000 people have benefited from investments in both areas, which have helped restore river embankments, reinforce roads and bridges, and create jobs.
Over 130 Water Users Associations improved their management of irrigation infrastructure and bolstered irrigation services for farmers.
Irrigation services were improved on 250,000 of land, benefiting 1.4 million people in the most food insecure districts of Khatlon Region. Over 30,000 residents also gained temporary employment through the project’s public works program.
The Tajikistan Rural Electrification Project connected 27 remote villages in GBAO to electricity, benefitting 4,400 people.
Over 7,600 residents in 35 remote villages across GBAO will be connected to electricity for the first time through off-grid solutions by 2025 including hydro, solar, wind station, and battery storage systems.
With the ongoing Tajikistan Rural Electrification Project, over 31,000 people across 64 villages in the poorest areas of Khatlon Region residing along the border with Afghanistan will be provided with reliable electricity supply by 2024.
After establishing a National Registry of Social Protection as well as digitizing the full delivery cycle of national safety-net interventions with World Bank support, vulnerable populations in the country can more quickly receive the assistance they need.
The World Bank has provided financing for procurement of over 565,200 doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to support childhood immunization and the provision of essential child health services in Tajikistan.
With the support of the World Bank, Tajikistan procured 892,320 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. ICUs in ten of the country’s hospitals were also supported through equipment, medical supplies, PPE, while rehabilitation and oxygen stations were installed in 15 hospitals.
