In response to this need, the Expert Independent Research Institute (EIRI), with the support of Eurasia Foundation’s Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) program, launched a project to combat torture of Kazakhstanis by state law enforcement agencies. The team created an educational website and a series of free videos that have helped more than 5,000 victims of torture find step-by-step procedures to protect their rights. EIRA also conducted workshops and roundtables for law enforcement officials that received public recognition and more than 20 media mentions.

“It all started with wide public outcry that emerged after the January events, when much evidence of torture appeared in the media,” says Mirkhat Serikbayev, the project’s coordinator. “Among 5,000 protesters who were arrested by police, many, apparently, were tortured, but there are no exact figures, as people were afraid of voicing their complaints. We wanted to offer help, so my colleagues and I started conducting live social media broadcasts on how to document torture and help victims and their relatives bring cases to the court and international attention.”

Responses to the social media series made the team realize many torture victims were in acute need of psychological and legal guidance. “What we needed was a platform gathering all the relevant information the victims of torture might find useful,” says Mirkhat.

The team embarked on a search for international support and submitted an application for SICA’s Innovative Solutions Grant, a funding opportunity that promotes public initiatives aimed at fostering positive change. The grant from SICA allowed the EIRI team to create a website that offers free help for torture survivors. Through the project’s website, PytkamNet.kz, victims can access a legal database, request free psychological and legal assistance, and view video tutorials. Tutorials systematically outline how to document instances of torture and file complaints with local and international organizations. The site aims to signal to victims of torture who remain silent that there are international organizations, activists, and legal experts ready to help them achieve justice.

“The approach we take involves collaborating with both parties involved in the conflict. Our primary goal is to offer sufficient assistance to those who have suffered from torture and inform them about possible avenues for seeking redress for their rights violations,” explains Mirkhat. “At the same time, we recognize the importance of working with law enforcement officials to raise awareness that the use of illicit investigation techniques, such as torture, could lead to severe repercussions for their professional careers.”

According to Mirkhat, the team faced struggled with the stark reality of the statistics on torture cases. Anara Ibraeva, a project member, revealed that there were only 25 verdicts for torture cases against police officers in 2020, five in 2021, and two or three in 2022 despite a consistent number of complaints. “The decreasing trend in the number of verdicts on torture cases every year is alarming, as it actually encourages police officers to use torture and disregard the law,” Mirkhat adds.

To combat this issue, the team organized a workshop for 50 law enforcement officials. The workshop, led by human rights activists, lawyers, and advocates, included representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ombudsman for Human Rights, and the Coalition Against Torture. The session included role-playing exercises that randomly assigned police officers to the roles of “interrogators” and “suspects.” The former questioned the latter using manipulative language. According to Mirkhat, the session provided police officers with the opportunity to step into the shoes of the suspects and understand firsthand the brutal nature of interrogation and torture. “Some of the participants told us that the workshop was ‘mind-changing’ for them,” he notes. “In fact, we were able to convey to them that nobody is immune to persecution, including police officers themselves.”

EIRI now counts the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ombudsman for Human Rights, and the Coalition Against Torture among its key partners. Together, they are promoting a coordinated and multi-faceted approach to tackling the issue of torture, a crucial step toward success.

Furthermore, promisingly, with new legislative acts in place, EIRI’s efforts are now synchronized with Kazakhstan’s evolving stance on police misconduct. In March 2023, parliament passed a law mandating that police officers must record interrogations on video. Additionally, the law transferred the management of prison medical units from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health. The Prosecutor General’s Office now oversees cases of police misuse of power. “Previously, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which also oversaw the police, was the main body responsible for inspecting cases of torture and the quality of prison medical units,” explains Mirkhat. “Clearly, when a single body inspects itself, there may be reluctance to prosecute one’s own colleagues. Now that these responsibilities have been transferred to other bodies, there are reasons to believe that positive changes will start to take place.”

“We often forget that there are people on all sides of the conflict. In order to effectively address the issue, we must actively engage in dialogue with both sides,” Mirkhat emphasizes. “Our mission is to combat the use of torture by law enforcement agencies and hold them accountable. I am committed to making a positive change in the situation.”

The post Combating Torture in Kazakhstan with Digital Tools appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

Childbirth in Ukraine often comes at an unofficial cost. “Charity contributions” or informal payments for childbirth are a common occurrence, with hospitals privately charging an average of $1,000 for delivery despite the availability of free services. These sums represent a massive financial hurdle for thousands of hopeful Ukrainian families, many of whom, on average, earn less than half the asking price.

To dismantle financial obstacles around parenthood, the Government of Ukraine includes pregnancy and childbirth in its Medical Guarantee Program. Introduced in 2020 and operating through the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU), this program helps Ukrainians access essential medical services at NHSU-partnered institutions, free of charge.

Despite the government’s concerted efforts, many families remain unaware of the free services available through the program. Worse yet, some NHSU-partnered institutions retain practices of soliciting informal payments.

To spread awareness about free services, “I Will Be a Mother” serves as an easy-to-use digital directory for resources on pregnancy and motherhood. The chatbot provides critical information on child development, essential medical exams, and no-cost maternity care available through the government’s Medical Guarantee Program.

“According to our survey of women who gave birth in 2021 and 2022, 58% had to pay for childbirth and 40% faced so-called ‘charity contributions,'” says Yuliia Ridchenko. Yuliia is the development director of the 280 Days charity fund, which together with the civic organization Liki Kontrol developed “I Will Be a Mother” for Telegram and Viber. The chatbot sources information from open data sets on payment records and contracts between healthcare providers and NHSU.

“I Will Be a Mother” began as a project for the Open Data Services Support grant competition, which was jointly organized by the USAID / UK aid-funded Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) Activity, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, and the East Europe Foundation. The competition promotes the use of open data in anti-corruption measures, social welfare programs, and government efficiency, and in overcoming the consequences of war. Given the project’s immense potential, “I Will Be a Mother” won the grant competition, receiving UAH 1.1 million (over $29,000) for implementation in late 2022.

Thanks to the chatbot, Anhelina found a free, NHSU-affiliated maternity ward in the Dnipropetrovsk region. “My husband and I learned that they indeed offer medical services free of charge in compliance with Ukrainian legislation and the requirements for women in labor,” says Anhelina, sharing that the only expense incurred by the family was an upgrade to a more comfortable ward.

For 28-year-old Kateryna, who was internally displaced from the Luhansk region, pregnancy was especially challenging. “I Will Be a Mother” proved a vital resource. The chatbot advised Kateryna on necessary maternity exams and where to find them. It also helped interpret her test results and provided information about available state-subsidized medical consultations.

“When I gave birth to my first child [several years ago], we had to cover all expenses, including every doctor’s consultation and medication. We ended up purchasing many items, both essential and not, from the maternity hospital. Now, with everything being provided by the state, and thanks to ‘I Will Be a Mother,’ women can easily access this information,” she explains.

Presently, over 300 facilities across the country provide childbirth services at no cost, with nearly 700 collaborating with NHSU on prenatal care. These encompass all essential consultations, medical examinations, and complex procedures, such as difficult births and cesarean sections.

Innovative open data tools like the “I Will Be a Mother” chatbot are vital in communicating the impact of the Government of Ukraine’s Medical Guarantee Program, advocating for women’s right to free healthcare, and increasing transparency around government services.

The post “I Will Be a Mother” Chatbot Supports Pregnant Women in Accessing Free Medical Care appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

To help Ukrainians rebuild their homes during war, the Government of Ukraine is compensating homeowners directly impacted by hostilities through the eRecovery program. This e-service was developed in partnership with the Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the USAID / UK Dev-funded Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) Activity. 

Upon the launch of eRecovery in May 2023, only residents of damaged properties were eligible for government assistance to repair their homes. In August 2023, eRecovery expanded to include owners of destroyed homes, enabling participants to receive a housing voucher to purchase a new property. Additionally, starting January 2024, people can apply for financial assistance to construct a new house on their existing plot of land. 

The digitization of reconstruction began just one month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On March 30, 2022, Diia—an e-government app used by millions of Ukrainians to access public services—introduced a function to report damaged property. This feature enabled the Government of Ukraine to collect essential data and conduct a preliminary estimation of damage and anticipated needs.

The collected data would later populate the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property, which continues to play a pivotal role in ensuring the transparent and efficient delivery of the eRecovery service.

A Matter of Minutes to Request State Aid
Andrii is one of the nearly 86,000 Ukrainians who has applied for help in repairing his home through eRecovery. Andrii and his wife live in Bucha, a city on the outskirts of Kyiv. Bucha became a global symbol of the brutality of the Russian occupation when, in spring 2022, Russian forces committed a litany of apparent war crimes, including the torture and massacre of civilians.

Andrii and his wife managed to flee their home before Russian forces entered the city. They returned to a liberated Bucha two months later, where they found their apartment heavily damaged by shelling. Unable to cover the cost of repairs, Andrii reported the damage through Diia.

The launch of the eRecovery service one year later yielded a new opportunity. Since Andrii had previously submitted a detailed report on his damaged property, a simple application for compensation through Diia was in order. 

Ukraine’s adoption of e-governance solutions allows access to public services anytime and anywhere. With eRecovery, in just 10 minutes, Andrii was able to apply for funds and open a dedicated account to receive them at one of the program’s partner banks.

Within two weeks of submitting his application, the Bucha City Council scheduled a property inspection with Andrii. Inspectors assess damages and determine the final compensation amount via a predetermined digital checklist. The discretion of inspectors is tightly circumscribed to reduce opportunities for petty corruption. For example, the order of claim reviews cannot be altered, inspection commissions include representatives from public organizations, and final evaluators are anonymized.

After the inspection was complete, Andrii received a sum of UAH 78,000 (over $2,000) to assist with the repair of his apartment.

How eRecovery works

To prevent corruption and misuse, citizen applications, inspection reports, related photographs, assessment checklists, and decisions regarding the provision of assistance are all stored in the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property. This public register makes the recovery and compensation process transparent and efficient for all parties involved.

In the year since the service’s launch, the government has distributed more than UAH 10.7 billion ($280 million) in financial assistance to more than 55,000 families for housing repairs or vouchers to purchase new homes. 

eRecovery funds are disbursed to a dedicated eRecovery bank account. These funds then can be used exclusively for the purchase of materials and construction services from vetted contractors, also within the eRecovery ecosystem. The list of contractors is available online. Currently, it includes more than 4,300 service providers. 

Homeowners who have received support toward repairs through eRecovery are eligible for up to UAH 500,000 ($13,000). Another 13,000 individuals have submitted applications related to destroyed housing. More than 6,000 applicants have received housing purchase certificates, which are valued at UAH 1.7 million ($43,000) on average. More than 2,500 Ukrainians have used the certificates to buy new housing through the eRecovery program. “This program provides substantial support, not only for our family but also for all Ukrainians whose homes suffered damage during the full-scale invasion by Russia into our country,” says Andrii.

In addition to providing a financial buoy for thousands of Ukrainians, eRecovery serves a critical, symbolic role in boosting morale. Despite the harsh realities imposed by war, the continued success of the program heralds revival: not only of infrastructure but also of community resilience. As Ukrainians continue to invest in their community, restore lost connections, deepen new ones, and rebuild their hearths one brick at a time, the Government of Ukraine will, likewise, continue to support its citizens through eRecovery and other programs.

The post eRecovery: How a Revolutionary Digital Service is Helping Ukrainian Families Rebuild appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

To fill this gap and bolster the country’s transformation, a team of procurement professionals created Kun Jarygy (“Sunlight” in Kazakh) in the summer of 2022. This coalition of 23 NGOs and 32 experts monitors state spending across Kazakhstan. Launched with support from Eurasia Foundation’s Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) program and global transparency watchdog Open Contracting Partnership, the coalition quickly began shining a light on problematic procurement practices.

“A key aspect of public monitoring is ensuring that citizens, as the ultimate beneficiaries of state expenditures, receive high-quality goods and services at reasonable prices,” says Nurgali Rakhmanov, a co-founder and an active member of the coalition. “Our mission now is to educate them on how to monitor public spending effectively to ensure they receive [these] quality services for their taxes.”

Nurgali gained experience in public procurement while working as a business development specialist for various international enterprises. After years in this sector, he discovered SICA’s Policy Research School and realized he was ready for a career change.

SICA’s Policy Research School helps changemakers leverage their professional expertise to improve public procurement processes. “The program offered hands-on practical tools for tracking public spending, implementing research projects, minimizing safety risks, and offering constructive recommendations on public policy,” Nurgali says. “As I was learning to analyze procurement from the perspective of a watchdog, I realized that I wanted to keep developing in this sphere.”

The idea of an umbrella organization to support NGOs working on state recruitment—what would become Kun Jarygy—was born in a casual WhatsApp chat among classmates. “Then, in May 2022, when SICA announced a new grant competition, four of us from the chat—Aida Bapakhova, Ruslan Asaubayev, Abai Myrkhin, and I—joined forces to propose the establishment of the coalition. This is how our journey began,” Nurgali says, smiling.

Within months, the newly founded coalition was working with 25 NGOs and had become a hub for civic activists working in the sphere. The team launched a free webinar series on public monitoring of state procurement. Webinars attracted a wide audience, including government procurement representatives. One participant, Bauyrzhan Zaki Akhmetzhan, took what he learned and hosted an additional in-person state procurement course for 16 civic activists in August 2023 in his native Uralsk.

The founders’ varied professional experiences have propelled the project’s success. Co-founder Aida Bapakhova is a former project director of egov.kz, Kazakhstan’s premier digital platform for government e-services. In January 2024, under Aida’s leadership, Kun Jarygy launched ProZakup.kz, a website guide to Kazakhstan’s regulatory environment. ProZakup has become a model online platform in Central Asia for support and education to civic activists and NGOs working on state procurement.

“One particular victory for us is the fact that coalition members are exchanging and leveraging their practical experience [to amplify outcomes],” notes Aida. “Recently, Nurgali’s public foundation conducted a study on school construction spending and shared findings his with our group. Bauyrzhan, another member of the coalition, then utilized Nurgali’s methods for his own research. We learn from each other and grow as a team.”

The coalition is a prime example of how the civic sector can cooperate with government bodies to champion transparent spending. In just one year, members of Kun Jarygy have monitored 1,222 tenders worth 346 billion KZT (725 million USD). Within these, they identified 270 purchases with violations and sent 89 complaints to government agencies, which resulted in the opening of 5 criminal cases and 11.4 million KZT (24,000 USD) returned to the state budget.

Moving forward, Kun Jarygy is focused on solidifying partnerships with government agencies to develop robust public oversight, enhance transparency, and strengthen procurement officers’ skills. Aida is confident that the coalition emerged at the right time. “Civic activists, NGOs, and bloggers across the country monitor state procurement, but many lack the capacity to develop full-scale research or do it systemically,” she says. “We needed a body that would effectively pool [these actors’] limited resources to promote the transparency of state procurement, ultimately saving their efforts. Kun Jarygy is that body.”

The post Anti-Corruption Coalition Shines a Light on State Procurement in Kazakhstan appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

“Previously, services in the construction sector were paper based, requiring people to visit officials, which posed a risk of corruption. However, everything has changed with the introduction of the Single Electronic System in the Construction Sector,” says Kostiantyn, a system user.

Kostiantyn has been working in the construction industry for 18 years. He is now a project manager at a construction company in Kyiv. The company is building an office and residential building in the city center. Kostiantyn’s responsibilities include obtaining permits for the building’s commissioning. For apartment buildings and large industrial facilities, it is mandatory to obtain documents through the Single Electronic System in the Construction Sector (SESCS).  

With this requirement in place, the company Kostiantyn works for has no alternative—and no regrets, since the system saves them both time and money. Before the SESCS was introduced, developers had to include bribes in the cost of every square meter of real estate, and officials could take months to issue the necessary permits without explanation.  

Kostiantyn is well versed in SESCS, as the building project he is managing is large and complex. “We started commissioning the project in May 2022, when many people were physically absent from their workplaces due to the war. I applied online and got all the necessary signatures without leaving my home,” he says happily. In Kostiantyn’s opinion, the online system’s availability during the war is a benefit no less important than its anti-corruption effects.  

Kostiantyn also notes how quickly SESCS is developing and how well the support service works: “We submitted the project several times—received comments, corrected errors—and eventually received our documents. The support team was always in touch and helped us a lot.” 

Today, more than 72,000 professional users are registered in SESCS, including architects, representatives of building control authorities, design engineers, and more. Within a User Account, all participants involved in the construction process are visible to everyone, rendering the construction process entirely transparent. “Transparency is extremely important for investors, as it allows them to quickly assess the project they are about to invest in and make an informed decision,” says Kostiantyn. 

The Government of Ukraine decided to transition all construction services online in 2019. At that time, according to a survey of real estate market participants, more than 86 percent of respondents in Kyiv had faced bribery, and the situation in other regions was not much better. The media reported the arrest of officials for taking bribes of up to tens of thousands of dollars. The government estimated the cost of corruption in construction at UAH 3 billion a year. 

In 2020, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development (now the Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development) launched SESCS with support from the USAID / UK aid-funded Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) Activity.  

In the three years since the system launch, 13 online services have been made available to citizens and businesses and have been used more than 110,000 times.  

Another advantage of SESCS is its speed. For instance, the issue of permit for construction activities now takes only five days to be issued, and the data changes to permits for construction activities can be initiated within just four days. In the past, documents could take months to process.

All of this is extremely important for Ukraine today. Over the course of almost a year and a half of war, the country’s infrastructure has suffered more than $150 billion in damage. Most of the damage was to residential buildings, followed by infrastructure. Ukraine faces a major reconstruction effort that will require significant resources. E-services in the construction sector will help the country recover faster and more transparently.

The post Billions of Hryvnias in Savings Instead of Bribes: How an Electronic System in the Construction Sector is Contributing to Ukraine’s Transformation appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

The humanitarian e-procurement system Prozorro+, an online platform developed with support from EF’s Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) project, aims to meet these needs while providing full transparency on the delivery of aid in Ukraine.

Ukrainians unite to help those affected by war

“Those who left their hometowns left not because something good was waiting for them, but because they simply did not have the opportunity to stay,” says a representative of the Piatykhatky City Council Social Service Delivery Center, who organized a shelter for internally displaced people in south-central Ukraine. “It is important that these people know that they have a place to stay and that they will receive help, food, and shelter. Prozorro+ makes it possible [for us] to provide this assistance.”

Piatykhatky is a community of 26,000 residents located in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Of these residents, approximately 1,400 are internally displaced people. Nine multigenerational families live full time in the shelter, and up to 50 people stay overnight almost every day.

In the first two months of the war alone, the shelter accommodated more than 3,000 people, many of whom had fled their homes in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions, on the front lines of war. As demand for the shelter grew, so too did demands for funding to provide sheltered families with food and essentials.

Bershad, a city of 42,000 located in the Vinnytsia region, faced a similar predicament. Approximately 5,000 Ukrainians have sought temporary shelter in Bershad since the war began.

Initially, Bershad was simply a transit point where internally displaced people stayed for a few weeks and then moved on. However, as the war dragged on, families began to settle in Bershad simply because they had nowhere else to go. Today, Bershad shelters almost 1,400 internally displaced people.

Piatykhatky and Bershad are just two communities among many across Ukraine, burgeoning with internally displaced people and struggling to provide for residents impacted by war. According to UNHCR, nearly 6 million people are internally displaced in Ukraine. An estimated 17.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Faced with limited financial resources to ensure proper living conditions for new residents, communities are finding critical assistance using Prozorro+.

Prozorro+ helps internally displaced Ukrainians

Prozorro+ connects state-level and community institutions caring for Ukrainians impacted by war with donors ready to finance their needs. Prozorro+ is a derivation of Ukraine’s acclaimed Prozorro e-procurement platform, also backed by TAPAS. The platform ensures transparency and accountability in humanitarian spending during wartime.

Prozorro+ maintains a catalog of more than 100 categories of high-demand humanitarian goods, such as personal care products, medicine, clothing, shoes, laptops, generators, fuel, and more. Suppliers who are equipped to provide these goods publish offers on the platform. Buyers—who include government authorities, military-civilian administrations, humanitarian organizations, and state and social institutions caring for vulnerable populations—also publish requests for commodities, even if they do not have funding to finance the purchase themselves. The Prozorro+ team then helps match buyers with donors who can purchase these goods.

Altogether, Prozorro+’s positive impact is threefold: the platform helps humanitarian providers access the goods they need; helps Ukrainian businesses resume operations and contribute to Ukraine’s economy; and helps donors ensure their funds are administered transparently and directly meet civilian needs.

As of March 2023, government buyers had placed over 400 requests for assistance through the Prozorro+ platform. Over 100 of these requests have been met by both domestic and international donors contributing more than UAH 2,375,000 (USD$64,000).

“Thanks to Prozorro+, we have been able to support internally displaced people [in Bershad] by providing them, with the help of donors, with essentials [like] food, hygiene products, and other needs,” says the Social Protection and Public Health Department of Bershad City Council.

How Prozorro+ works

Because Prozorro+ is new to users, many of whom may be altogether unfamiliar with procurement procedures, Prozorro+ representatives are on call to help new users navigate the system. With support from the Prozorro+ team, users can swiftly post requests and efficiently acquire the goods they need. Explains a representative of Bershad City Council: “We called the representatives of the platform and found out what needed to be done. At first, the procedure seemed complicated. However, step by step, following the instructions of Prozorro+ representatives, we calculated the number of internally displaced people, their needs, made a justification for these needs, and placed them on Prozorro+. Then, we held an online meeting with donors, where we discussed the reporting procedure and the amount of possible funding,”

With the help of Prozorro+ representatives, the Bershad City Council announced a tender for essential supplies to support internally displaced people. Shortly thereafter, vendors contracted with the Council and delivered UAD 300,000 (over USD$8,000) worth of goods, all with donor support. After shelter volunteers distributed the goods, they reported back to the donor.

The Social Service Delivery Center of Piatykhatky City Council also quickly found a donor using Prozorro+. The Center maintains a kitchen where sheltering residents can prepare hot food. With donor support via Prozorro+, the Center purchased 90 days’ worth of vegetables, grains, oil, milk, eggs, and other essentials for a total of UAH 272,000 (over USD$7,400). The Center regularly reports on the goods’ use.

A way forward

The war has left millions of Ukrainians without a roof over their heads or money to live on. For many, the only life-saving option has been to flee, often leaving everything behind. Fellow Ukrainians have united with the international community to offer time, financial, and material resources to help internally displaced people.

However, for the individuals providing direct assistance to internally displaced people, the search for aid is time consuming and resource heavy, particularly as the war enters its second year. Representatives of both Piatykhatky and Bershad commented on the challenges they faced in locating humanitarian essentials. Now, thanks to Prozorro+, they and others can quickly find donors eager to provide funding or material aid. For these donors, Prozorro+ is both convenient and assuring, as it prioritizes transparency and accountability in both donation and reporting, and encourages further investment in Ukraine.

The post Prozorro+ Meets Humanitarian Needs in Wartime Ukraine appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

While analyzing tender lots, Mirzo noted with surprise that between January and May 2022, approximately 300 state organizations across Uzbekistan, including universities, colleges, and the Ministry of Finance, purchased at least 378 copies of one particular item. This item was Strategy of New Uzbekistan, a book written by Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, and a set of posters about the book. The book itself weighed 11 kg (24 pounds) and cost 7.8 million UZS ($650) per copy.

“It seemed unbelievable that 300 organizations [across the country] suddenly decided to buy the president’s book that costs a fortune. I thought this may suggest that someone may be forcing them to buy it,” says Mirzo.

Mirzo decided to inquire further. He discovered that the sellers were several private companies, all located at the same legal address. These sellers had an agreement with the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education regarding the purchase of the president’s book. Mirzo also learned via a whistleblower at a university that the state organizations that bought the book did so at the instruction of an official letter from the Deputy Minister of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education, who explicitly “recommended” they buy Mirziyoyev’s book and the set of posters. In total, the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education earned more than 1.8 billion UZS ($150,000) through the sale of the book.

Upon learning that this potential corruption case involved the ministry, Mirzo was skeptical that the relevant government bodies would do anything to address the issue. So, he decided to look at the matter from a different angle.

Mirzo published an investigative article on Gazeta.uz, where he is a staff writer, identifying the seller and participants of the scheme. In the article, he prompted Uzbekistan’s Agency of Information and Mass Communications and the Department of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Justice to consider the case from the perspective of copyright infringement. “It was clear that the rights of the author, the president of Uzbekistan, were violated, since the book and posters were printed and distributed without his consent,” says Mirzo. “I wanted to make sure the intellectual property department [at the Justice Department] knew about this.”

To his satisfaction, the state bodies confirmed that the companies had indeed violated the law by not obtaining the explicit consent of the copyright holder to distribute the book.

According to Mirzo, the companies have been notified of copyright infringement. Whether the case will proceed to court is still unknown. However, Mirzo says he was able to raise public awareness around this fraud case, which appears to be symptomatic corruption in public procurement in general.

“Monitoring of public procurement is one of the main tools for fighting corruption. This is especially true for Uzbekistan, where the level of corruption is still very high,” he notes. “Unfortunately, many people do not know about the possibility of monitoring public procurement tenders. Thanks to the training I received from Eurasia Foundation, I improved my skills in tracking the distribution of the state budget and identifying potential corruption cases.”

The post Independent Journalist Discovers a $150,000 Public Procurement Fraud Linked to President’s Book in Uzbekistan appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

“Despite the fact that my father was not around, he always supported me in my desire to study. After the civil war broke out [in Tajikistan], there was a period of economic stagnation and high unemployment. My parents worked hard to give us a good education against all odds. I always knew that I needed to go an extra mile to achieve something important,” says Farrukh. 

After completing courses at Oxford University, Farrukh realized that the tech sphere has plenty of opportunities. This prompted him to launch Ilmhona Skills Acceleration Center in Dushanbe. There, anyone can study IT courses and even get a job in the tech sphere. Thanks to the unique system Farrukh has implemented, it is possible to earn a degree at Ilmhona for free.  

“One needs a deposit to start studying. Yet, if a student completes the course with 85 points or more, he or she gets from 50 to 100 percent of their deposit money back,” explains Farrukh. “We have examples of students earning 100 percent of their money back.” 

Inspired by the success of Ilmhona, Farrukh decided to launch a new office in his hometown, Istaravshan, which could otherwise not boast of many opportunities for young people. To fund the initiative, Farrukh applied for an in-kind grant from EF’s Kazakhstan-based Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) program. With support in part from SICA, Farrukh bought computer equipment and launched IT courses for more than 200 residents of Istaravshan.  

One of Farrukh’s most successful students to date is Khassan Soliyev, who worked as a house painter before stumbling across an ad for Ilmhona.  

“I really wanted to study [at Ilmhona], but when I realized their office was located far from my town, I was very upset. Yet just six months later they launched an office here in Istaravshan,’’ says Khassan. “Of course, the first thing I did was to sign up.”   

In just two months, Khassan has mastered HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. After completing the training, Ilmhona offered him a job as a course instructor. Now he teaches Front End Basics to Istaravshan students and dreams that one day he will be able to work at Google or Microsoft.

Ilmhona recently launched a program specifically catered to girls in tech. The first group of 30 female students already finished the first course.

“It is very important for us to show that girls can do anything,” notes Farrukh. “Our first IT course for the girls of my hometown is meant to equip them with tools to create a promising future.”  

 In addition to the training courses, Ilmhona organizes startup events, soft skills workshops, and meetups for Tajik youth. Farrukh hopes these initiatives will inspire young people and help raise a new tech-oriented Tajik generation.  

“Although Tajikistan has limited natural resources, the country has plenty of human capital potential,” says Farrukh. “My mission is to make my homeland a country of talents in the field of innovation and technology.”

The post Young Changemaker Forges IT Talents in Tajikistan appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

Umit is a successful woman who independently runs a thriving business in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan region. She provides everything her two children need to lead happy, healthy childhoods. Yet, just years ago, she says, this life seemed out of reach.

Umit and her children are survivors of domestic violence. They left an abusive home in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help her take this courageous step, Umit turned to Zan Talaby, a women’s center she discovered on social media. There, she and her children found the necessary social, psychological, and legal support to begin building this new, positive chapter of their lives.

Zan Talaby offers comprehensive services for survivors of violence against women like Umit in southern Kazakhstan. Since April 2020, the organization has actively worked with Eurasia Foundation’s Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) program.

Eurasia Foundation helped Zan Talaby redesign their project management, funding, and outreach strategies to be effective during the pandemic. With SICA, Zan Talaby revised their psychological support techniques and trained hundreds of local women and children to recognize violence against women. They also partnered with over 50 local journalists and social media influencers to reach survivors online, like Umit.

Unfortunately, Umit’s success story is not yet the norm for violence against women survivors in the region—especially during the pandemic. In Kazakhstan, cases of domestic violence increased by an estimated 40% during the pandemic. However, appeals to police and resource centers declined, as survivors sharing a roof with their abusers lacked the privacy to search for and contact help. In rural areas like Turkestan, where lockdowns compounded already limited access to support services, online resources became many survivors’ only option.

Meeting this immense need required Zan Talaby to scale up their services rapidly and creatively. Zan Talaby applied to Eurasia Foundation’s SICA program for additional support in designing an innovative solution to this emerging social problem. Thus, the MeeToo app was born.

MeeToo is a multi-faceted mobile app for preventing, countering, and recovering from violence against women. In emergencies, users can press an SOS button that links directly to a police hotline. Survivors can connect with local law enforcement, crisis centers, and NGOs through MeeToo’s WhatsApp and Telegram channels. The app also features an e-library with mental health resources, women’s seminars, and job boards to help survivors gain financial independence.

To center women’s voices in the development and promotion of this truly expansive platform, Zan Talaby interviewed over 150 women.  These conversations raised key issues like children’s experiences of violence and the need for emergency psychological assistance to survivors. Thanks to lessons learned with SICA, Zan Talaby was able to address each one of these needs by uniting civil society organizations, government institutions, and ordinary people.

Zan Talaby launched MeeToo on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, November 25, 2021. In just five months, over 900 users have downloaded the app, and more than 70 survivors have used it to seek support from Zan Talaby professionals.

With MeeToo, survivors like Umit can protect their rights without waiting for the pandemic to subside. The MeeToo app puts keys to a safer future right at their fingertips.

The post Countering Violence Against Women in Kazakhstan appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

“For Ukrainians, cancer treatment is very expensive. However, patients can receive many things free of charge, thanks to the Get Treated chatbot.”

How a Telegram chatbot helps patients save tens of thousands of hryvnia fighting breast cancer and uphold their rights to free medical care.

Since 2014, Olena has taken turns battling her own cancer and that of two loved ones. Today, two of them—she and her mother—are recovering. Recently, Olena learned about Get Treated (@likuysia_bot), a Telegram messenger bot that helps her find information about the medical examinations she needs and the state-provided services and medications available to her free of charge.

How Olena fought cancer for herself and her family

In 2014, Olena was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. She underwent four surgeries and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy alone cost more than her monthly salary yet was just one of many medical expenses she faced. Family and friends helped her with money.

Soon thereafter, Olena learned that her nephew, too, had cancer. That was when she discovered Athena: Women Against Cancer, an NGO that provides information about treatment options and free offerings to people with cancer across Ukraine.

Unfortunately, Olena’s nephew did not survive. But when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Olena went to Viktoria Romaniuk, co-founder of Athena, for information. That was how she found out about the Get Treated chatbot.

How open data helps save more lives

Get Treated operates in Telegram and Viber. The chatbot originated as part of OpenDataGo, a contest held by the USAID/UK aid-funded Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/TAPAS Activity in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. OpenDataGo supports open government data-based projects created by civil society organizations in Ukraine.

Get Treated is geared toward patients with breast cancer, the most prevalent form of cancer both worldwide and in Ukraine. Liki Сontrol, an organization that raises awareness about affordable healthcare options, created the chatbot with Athena.

Liki Control founder Nataliia Huran, who worked in the IT sector for much of her life, decided to take advantage of her knowledge and experience to help people with health issues. Athena co-founder Viktoria Romaniuk herself fought breast cancer in the past and now actively works to expand the list of free services and medications available to cancer patients. Together, they make a powerful team.

“While a human rights champion can help one patient defend their rights at a time, a service like Get Treated helps thousands at every stage,” says Nataliia Huran. According to Nataliia, some Ukrainians diagnosed with cancer simply retreat upon learning the news, refusing life-saving treatment due to the high cost. “In the case of breast cancer, these are mostly women aged 35 to 45 who are able-bodied and have quite young children,” Nataliia continues. “It is a real tragedy. With Get Treated, we are trying to reverse this trend.”

How Get Treated works

Get Treated contains a full roadmap for treating breast cancer, including information about free diagnostics and treatment available under the National Program of Medical Guarantees, all in a simple, yet comprehensive format. The chatbot retrieves this information from government-supplied open data, including the National Register of Public-Serving Healthcare Institutions^[1], agreements between the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) and cancer hospitals, and other sources.

Get Treated offers a list of preventive medical examinations and the institutions where patients can receive them; information about inpatient treatment admission conditions; and guidance about how and where to receive medications for free, even if they are unavailable in hospitals.

Furthermore, the service instructs users about how to defend their right to medical aid, prevent corruption at medical institutions, and combat illicit payment solicitations for services or medications that the NHSU lists as free.

There is also guidance on which tests to take and when. “Unfortunately, treatment without a sufficient number of tests is a common problem in Ukraine,” says Viktoria.

For example, following her diagnosis, Olena’s mother received neither a blood test nor an ultrasound. Her doctor prescribed treatment without a proper cardiac exam. She only later learned from other doctors that she needed to take these tests.

Now, women can receive correct and timely information about treatment protocols in the chatbot. “It’s a very cool roadmap for patients with breast cancer, and the best resource for those facing this diagnosis for the first time who don’t know what to do,” Olena says.

The chatbot’s audience has already exceeded 5,600 users and continues to grow.

According to the Ukraine Health Index 2019 survey, 24.5 percent of Ukrainians decide against receiving cancer treatment because of the high cost. “But in fact, patients can receive many things free of charge. People simply don’t know their rights,” Viktoria explains. For example, computed tomography scans must be performed free of charge, yet patients may pay anywhere between 1,800 UAH (67 USD) and 5,000 UAH (186 USD) for a scan, depending on the medical institution.

When doctors at a regional hospital saw Olena’s mother, they asked her to pay out-of-pocket for the examinations themselves. They even solicited a bribe of 200 UAH (7.5 USD) to ensure that medical personnel would perform these procedures at all. Olena says that her mother, who wasn’t aware of her rights, paid almost 4,000 UAH (150 USD) for her tests. “I realized that this is only the beginning, and if things are going to continue the way they have been, we won’t have money to pay for the rest of my mom’s treatment,” Olena recalls.

Get Treated contains information about patients’ rights and how to defend them. Thanks to this chatbot, Olena now knows what services can be received for free, and what medications are available for her mother. She even wrote a letter to the NHSU and eventually received a refund of the money she spent.

Olena is not going to give up. She is determined to keep fighting for her mother’s health and safeguarding her own. With Get Treated, it’s easier to do. Meanwhile, Athena and Liki Control plan to continue developing the Get Treated chatbot.  They also hope that with future financial support, they will be able to launch a similar chatbot for other forms of cancer, particularly lung cancer, which is the second most prevalent form in Ukraine.

The post Get Treated: How a Telegram Chatbot Helps Ukrainians Access Affordable Breast Cancer Care appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

Eurasia Foundation’s Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services (TAPAS) project supports Ukrainian citizens and the Government of Ukraine to implement e-governance reforms. By harnessing the power of open data, e-procurement, and e-services, TAPAS reforms eliminate opportunities for corruption, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery, and foster trust between citizens and government. In 2020, they transformed Ukraine’s COVID-19 response.

Large-scale physical distancing measures and movement restrictions under COVID-19 abruptly restricted citizens’ access to routine healthcare services. Open data tools developed under TAPAS help Ukrainian citizens efficiently locate affordable medicine. Using an online tool developed with the National Health Service of Ukraine, citizens can explore an interactive map of pharmacies participating in the state-run Affordable Medicines Program. Under the program, patients can obtain certain prescriptions free or subsidized. Maps display pharmacies located within seven kilometers of a patient’s primary healthcare facility. Between January and December 2020, citizens accessed the online tool nearly 38,000 times.

E-procurement catalogs developed under TAPAS simplify the process of purchasing small batches of medical supplies quickly and transparently. Using the Prozorro Market online store, small-town pre-schools along Ukraine’s war-torn eastern frontier can purchase products like gloves, disinfectants, syringes, and express tests from verified suppliers just as quickly and easily as hospitals and schools in major cities. Furthermore, because prices in Prozorro Market do not vary by purchase volume, buyers can spend money more effectively in the fight against COVID‑19. Using the tool, buyers averaged 38% savings on face coverings, 32% savings on disinfectants, and 69% savings on contactless thermometers, compared to market price.

While keeping people healthy is a top priority in the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for the health of businesses is also vital to community resilience. An e-service developed with support from TAPAS put COVID-19 support payments into the hands of entrepreneurs, businesses, and employees who suffered most due to pandemic restrictions. The rapid application process, available by mobile app, takes less than 5 minutes to complete. The first round of applications for support payments opened on December 14 and closed on December 31. Within just over two weeks, Ukrainians used the e-service to submit more than 332,000 applications totaling more than $94 million in assistance.

For more stories from Eurasia Foundation’s 2020 Annual Report: A Year Like No Other, click here.

The post Promoting e-Governance for Public Health appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.

In the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan, as the pandemic dragged on, citizens recognized a dearth of critical medical supplies, including life-saving drugs and medical equipment. With support from Eurasia Foundation, members of the Mangystau Oblast Civil Alliance undertook a six-month public spending watchdog campaign. E-procurement specialists trained citizens across Mangystau region in effective public procurement monitoring. Using open data available through Kazakhstan’s public e-procurement system, combined with a government-supplied filter for COVID-19-related contracts, citizens of Mangystau analyzed high risk, potentially corrupt tenders. The project revealed dubious purchases of various medical devices, including fans and personal hygiene items, by regional agencies.

One trainee, Khanshaiym Kuspanova, focused on public spending on a Mangystau agricultural stabilization fund. The fund provided financial assistance to farmers to stabilize regional food prices during the crisis. However, Khanshaiym’s analysis revealed that the prices of staple foods in Mangystau skyrocketed during the pandemic, growing at the fastest rate nationwide. The agricultural stabilization fund had failed to contain food prices, suggesting it had not been applied effectively. Khanshaiym also revealed that purchases related to the fund were carried out in violation of the rules of public procurement—that is, they lacked technical specifications or proof of work performed—but were accepted and paid in full.

Based on the results of these investigations, the Mangystau Oblast Civil Alliance prepared a series of recommendations for local authorities, who have opened multiple investigations into the suspect procurements.

For more stories from Eurasia Foundation’s 2020 Annual Report: A Year Like No Other, click here.

The post Curbing Corruption in Pandemic Spending appeared first on Eurasia Foundation.