Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A new plan to allocate £14 million is set to drive economic growth across Central Asia and tackle poverty in the region’s poorest areas.

Department For International Development’s (DFID, the UK) three-year plan will look at boosting the business climate across the region, strengthening public services and improving the effectiveness of development organisations.

By 2012 the plan aims to turn around the region’s finances by:

• Helping over one million people participate in rural growth programmes, including setting up new small businesses.
• Helping at least 5,000 rural men, women and children take advantage of the opportunities migration provides
• Ensuring at least 20,000 people in the region at risk of HIV and AIDS are able to access harm reduction services
• Helping the poorest 40% of households significantly reduce the amount they spend on health.

DFID’s work in the region to date has focussed on the two poorest countries, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Under the new Central Asia Development Strategy, UK aid will continue this support, but will also be used to reduce poverty regionally by promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth across all five countries in Central Asia.

Talking about the new plan, Development Minister Mike Foster said: “The collapse of the former Soviet Union had a significant impact on Central Asia, and the recent economic downturn has made worse an already fragile situation. The Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan are particularly at risk from the global recession, and face major challenges including lack of economic opportunities and a continuing dependence on remittances.

“We believe that one of the best ways to alleviate poverty in these countries is to look at making it easier to set up new enterprises and to do business in order to boost the economic growth that is needed for long-term stability. To do this, we need to move beyond a focus on individual countries and look to help tackle challenges across the region,” Foster concluded.