On May 7-8, members of the Parliament Mamirova B.A, Altybaeva A.T., Joldosheva Z.A., together with representatives of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance Department of the Ministry of Health, the Alliance of Women’s Legislative Initiatives, UNICEF, the Ecological Movement BIOM, and the Central Asian Water and Sanitation Alliance visited the Osh region to study the situation regarding access to water and ensuring sanitary and hygiene conditions in villages, kindergartens, and schools. Twelve meetings were held in the Nookat, Kara-Suu, and Aravan districts with representatives of local self-government bodies, local council deputies, district education departments, specialists from the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance Department, school directors and teachers, parents, kindergarten educators, and students, as well as staff from rural drinking water user associations, women leaders of local communities, women farmers, and other village residents.
The visit was organized with the support of UNICEF and the International Program “Empowerment of Women – A Benefit for All!” (EWA, WECF international). The women deputies learned about access to water, hygiene in food blocks, and the state of toilets in social institutions for children: Lomonosov School and Kazkaldak School in the Isanov Ayil Okmotu, Nookat district, the school and kindergarten in the village of Naiman, and pilot sites of UNICEF projects: Bobolashkar in the village of Shark, Ayni School in Tadjikabad, and the kindergarten “Kelechek.” Currently, there are many legislative issues related to providing adequate sanitary conditions and access to water in social institutions for children, as there are still no legal standards for Sanitary Norms and Rules, which are the regulatory basis for addressing these issues. The deputies learned about the work of the Rural Water Supply Organization in the village of Naiman, Nookat district, in the villages of Zhar-Kyshtak and Yusupova, Aravan district. As a legislative issue, representatives of the Rural Water Supply Organization highlighted the need to pay royalties for water extraction from wells. This provision was introduced by the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Subsoils” and requires clarification regarding the provision of drinking water to the population. Issues of production control of drinking water at the village level and collaboration between the Rural Water Supply Organization and the Local Self-Government Bodies were also raised. During the visits, women farmers raised issues regarding agriculture and the difficulties faced by farmers.
