The Safe Migration in Central Asia project uses evidence-based practices and cross-border connections to strengthen the mutual accountability and effectiveness of governments, NGOs, and the private sector to prevent trafficking-in-persons, protect survivors, and promote safe migration, as part of USAID’s Asia-wide suite of counter-trafficking interventions. Safe Migration in Central Asia is a five-year project implemented by Winrock International in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Millions of Central Asians leave their homes each year in search of better job opportunities. Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic rank as two of the most remittance-dependent countries in the world (see chart below). These migration outflows, coupled with governments’ attention to the issues of migration and human trafficking, present a window of opportunity to create better systems that support migrants, reduce their vulnerability to labor exploitation, and protect trafficking victims.

Our Work:

Building on previous USAID programs in the region, Safe Migration in Central Asia raises awareness and promotes behavior changes among migrants to safeguard their rights, while connecting them to support and services and highlighting their contributions to host communities. The project also builds on policy reform and government capacity strengthening accomplishments of previous USAID projects in the region to assist at-risk groups and trafficking survivors.

Safe Migration in Central Asia collaborates with local and international organizations, governments and civil society to connect individual country approaches into cohesive regional strategies to strengthen bilateral and multi-country actions to promote rights-based migration and counter trafficking in persons; reduce the vulnerability of at-risk populations to all forms of trafficking-in-persons; and expand and improve identification and assistance to trafficked persons.

The project intends to use the following cross-cutting themes to inform implementation:

1. Ensuring sustainability through collaborative implementation with government, civil society, and the private sector and their ownership of activities.
2. Promoting gender equality through analyses and gender-sensitive and inclusive activities.
3. Including youth participation and leadership in planning and implementation to reduce their vulnerability to trafficking-in-persons and cultivate youth leaders as activists to address human trafficking issues.
4. Adapting to changing environments and evolving priorities and focusing on the highest impact activities through continuous learning with selective and focused interventions.
5. Connecting with and leveraging other programs to achieve the greatest impact through complementarity.
6. Using robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes and tools to continuously gauge project progress and effects through measurable impact.

Safe Migration in Central Asia project’s approach to combating trafficking-in-persons is through empowering survivors, working with local groups, community leaders, and governments to improve data and policies, influencing social norms that increase trafficking risks, and establishing systems and services that protect at-risk groups.

USAID Contacts

 Inna Biryukova, Project Management Specialist

USAID/Central Asia

41 Kazibek Bi Street

050010 Almaty, Kazakhstan

Project Contacts

Eleanor Valentine, Chief of Party

Winrock International

100 Nazarbayev Ave.

050000 Almaty, Kazakhstan