In 1994, Mercy Corps became one of the first international non-governmental organizations to work in the new independent state of Kyrgyzstan. Over the past 30 years, Mercy Corps has attracted resources to Kyrgyzstan from more than 30 donor organizations, including those from the US, EU, UK, UN governments and private foundations, to increase literacy and improve children's nutrition, establish access to clean drinking water, organize school gardens, provide emergency assistance, address climate change and strengthen peace. Mercy Corps’ strategy in Kyrgyzstan for 2024-2027 aims to increase access to food, water and natural resources, as well as to increase capacity in public administration and conflict resolution in vulnerable rural areas for the sake of developing sustainable and inclusive communities.
McGovern-Dole's leading Food for Education and Child Nutrition program, funded by the USDA, has been implemented by Mercy Corps since 2012 with objective to improve literacy for schoolchildren and increase the use of best practices in health, nutrition and dietetics among primary school students and their communities. In 2012-2021, the McGovern-Dole program supported 510 schools in provision of healthy school meals by delivering 3,810 tons of supplemental food (fortified flour, rice, peas and sunflower oil) to provide more than 100,000 children in kindergartens and primary schools with hot meals across the country. In 2021, Mercy Corps began a new cycle of the program, which provides hot meals to more than 80,000 children from 400 schools.
The program provides participating schools with food supplied by the USDA and purchased locally, equips schools with modern kitchen equipment, and rehabilitates infrastructure with active involvement of local authorities. Other activities of the program are aimed at distributing books and educational materials, improving the infrastructure of water supply, sanitation and hygiene, training school cooks and state officials, organization of school gardens, as well as changing the social behavior of local health workers and parents. The combination of policy work, institutional capacity building and infrastructure support for school feeding provides sustainable enhancement of literacy and nutrition for primary school-aged children and elementary schools. The program is in line with the Kyrgyz government's new education strategy, the Law of Education and other related documents.