“Yet without organised change from above, there is a growing risk of chaotic change from below.”

International Crisis Group published a special report on Central Asia on February 4th.  The grim title speaks for itself: “Central Asia: Decay and Decline”.

It is one of the few reports, which you read with great interest and upon finishing it think: “I don’t need a 42 page report to know this!”.  And that’s one of the critical indicators of a good work for me personally.  Indeed, the report is very comprehensive and gives very straight to the point evaluation of current situation in four sectors of all of Central Asian countries: education, healthcare, transportation and energy.

Section about Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is perhaps the saddest part of the story.  As the subtitle suggests – The Great Leap Backward.  18 months of research showed that all spheres researched have rolled back since the break up of the Soviet Union – a commonly used starting point.  In these countries, quality and quantity of doctors as well as teachers are in decline, transport routes are deteriorating, energy sector is plagued by corruption and poor management.

I told you, you don’t need such a big report to know this.  But we need this report to have a documented proof of the fact that there is no development in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.  Growth of GDP is nothing compared to all of the long term setbacks in critical sectors like energy and education.

One of the peculiarities of the report – recommendations to various actors involved in the process.  It provides specific recommendations that must be used in development strategies of all countries in the region.

Another interesting aspect is recommendations to donors.  The report is critical of all donors working in the region and suggests that they should take a proactive position using their financial leverages more efficiently.

Anyways, see the report for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments.