Since 2000, Handicap International's actions in the CIS* have centred on the Russian Federation (including Chechnya) and Central Asia (Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). However, in the past we have also responded to emergencies in Armenia (following the 1988 earthquake in Erevan) and in Azerbaijan.
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In 2009, Handicap International decided to gradually increase its presence in Central Asia where the needs are particularly acute in terms of physical rehabilitation and health services and the case-management of people with disabilities, and where the number of facilities available is still very small.
This strategy initially entailed moving our regional office from Moscow to Bishkek, Kyrgystan in August 2009, and forming an initial partnership in Tajikistan with the international NGO “Mission East” and the Tajik association “Zarchedebonu”, focused on supporting a reception centre for children with disabilities in Kulob. Handicap International began providing technical support to the centre in January 2010 and is currently identifying the needs and expectations of its partners in various Central Asian countries before we launch a series of new projects.
* The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), is an intergovernmental cooperative community established in 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union with the aim of facilitating the independence of former Soviet republics and the development of multilateral cooperation. It is now officially composed of 11 countries, divided into three categories: 4 “European” countries (Belarus; Ukraine; Moldova; the Russian Federation); 2 South Caucasus countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan - Georgia withdrew in 2008); 5 Central Asia countries: (Kazakhstan; Kyrgystan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). However, beyond its strict legal and political definition, the term CIS is generally applied to all former member states of the Soviet Union.
