Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan will provide $ 500,000 to support the fight against COVID-19

The Board of Trustees of the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan decided to allocate a special reserve funds of $500,000 to help the most vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kazakhstan.

“The coronavirus pandemic has revealed gaping holes in social and economic infrastructure of society. The epidemic significantly expands the list of socially vulnerable groups; sometimes restrictive measures during the state of emergency lead to human rights violations. The SFK’s Special Fund, will accept unsolicited applications aimed at protecting the most vulnerable groups of society during a pandemic till the end of May. While getting adapted to the new, we are also ready to review our program activities in the context of the pandemic” says Aida Aydarkulova, Chairman of the Board of the Soros-Kazakhstan Foundation. “The creation of a special reserve fund is our response to daily challenges associated with the pandemic, SFK’s contribution to the fight against the spread of the virus and its consequences for the country.”

The special fund will accept applications to support and protect the rights of socially vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 period (prisoners, migrants, the elderly, people with disabilities, palliative patients, children with special educational needs, etc.); to counteract misinformation, expand access to online education, monitor the spending of the state budget aimed at combating the pandemic and protect and promote human rights and freedoms during the state of emergency.

Projects supported by SFK within the framework of COVID-19 are already underway across Kazakhstan. Among them there are projects to provide humanitarian assistance to medical workers, increase media literacy and reduce disinformation among population, support children with special needs during the transition to distance learning.

The Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan (SFK) is part of the Open Society Foundations, a network of foundations and related entities founded by philanthropist George Soros. In total, the Open Society Foundation have allocated more than $130 million to combat the devastating effects of COVID-19 around the world.