Half of the households in the Kyrgyz Republic lost income due to COVID-19

BISHKEK, March 03, 2021 – 51% of the households[1] in Kyrgyzstan lost income due to COVID-19, according to a household survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the situation of children and women in Kyrgyzstan. The survey, conducted in November-December 2020 by the National Statistics Committee with the financial and technical support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as part of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, was presented today. In total, 3,869 households answered the questionnaire.

Overall, 76% of the households in the Kyrgyz Republic were affected by COVID-19. Among the difficulties faced during the pandemic, a decrease in household income ranked first (reported by 51% of the households), followed by dissatisfaction with remote learning from the parents or guardians of children (32%), the fact that a family member contracted COVID-19 or died from it (29%), emotional distress felt by an adult member of the household(20%).

28% of households received social support/assistance (either food aid or financial support), among which 79% received it from government agencies.

86% of the households surveyed have children aged 0-17. Almost every second household had at least one child under the age of 5 years. Distance learning covered about 83% of children aged 7-17 years. The share of children whose parents are not satisfied with the online learning process was 78%.

Regarding newborns and pregnant women, prenatal care was provided to all women aged 15-49 who gave birth to a newborn during last year, and antenatal care was provided by a doctor in 84% of cases and by nurses, midwives and paramedics in 16% of the cases. Among women who gave birth to a child in the past 12 months, 89% of women had four or more antenatal visits. At least two vital observations were received by 99.8% of newborns in the first two days after birth.

After the child's birth, about 65% of women in labour were in a medical institution from 12 hours to 4 days. However, after discharge from the medical institution, only 11% of newborns were visited for postnatal observation in the first two days and 47% in the first six days.

The survey results showed that care for children aged 2-4 years was carried out mainly by adult members of the household (94.7%), but  the father's participation (12.6%) was minimal. The number of children aged 3-4 years participating in early education programmes in institutions was around 7%. 15% of children under the age of five were alone for more than an hour or in the care of another child under 10 at least once per week.

Among the preschool children who attended preschool educational institutions before the outbreak of COVID-19, about 29% used the provided television programmes and digital platforms for development.

Finally, regarding COVID-19 preventive measures, the proportion of children whose parents discussed with their children the safe precautions they should take to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection was more than 98%.

The study can be found here.

On MICS:

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is an international household survey programme developed by UNICEF. MICS is designed to collect solid and internationally comparable estimates of key indicators that are used to assess the situation of children and women in the areas of health, education, child protection, HIV/AIDS and many others.

For reference:

The National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic informs that, as part of the study of the impact of coronavirus on the population, two independent surveys, "Impact of COVID-19 on households" and "Impact of Covid-19 on the situation of children and women in Kyrgyzstan" were conducted. For each survey, independent samples and individual questionnaires were used.

The survey "Impact of Covid-19 on the situation of children and women in Kyrgyzstan" is aimed at a detailed assessment of the coverage of basic social services for children during the pandemic, including antenatal and postnatal care for mothers and children, early childhood development, child education, as well as getting insights on the financial situation and social support of households.

When using official statistics data and corresponding metadata, users are obliged to refer to their source (Article 30 of the Law "On Official Statistics").

[1] Definition of Household: a person or a group of persons living together in a dwelling and providing themselves with everything necessary for life through a common household, fully or partially pooling and spending their funds. These persons may be linked by marriage and family relations, kinship relations, or without the presence of such a relationship.