RFA for prospective grantees: Kazakhstan Actions Against Trafficking in Children

The purpose of this RFA is to solicit applications from prospective grantees to support Winrock International (Winrock) in the implementation of the Kazakhstan Actions against Trafficking in Children (KATCH) Project, funded by the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons for the period of April 1, 2023 – September 30, 2027, Award No. SSJTIP23GR0009. Under this solicitation, activities will be undertaken as part of KATCH’s second phase (Phase II), which is authorized to continue through September 30, 2027. 

In recent years, as a transit and destination location for migrants from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan has faced increased domestic and international migration due to the economic turmoil and Russia’s war on Ukraine. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Kazakhstan hosted over 550,000 migrant workers as of October 2025, which is nearly 21,000 more than in January 20251. The composition of the migrant workforce in 2025 continued to be dominated by labor migrants from neighboring Central Asian states. Workers from Uzbekistan accounted for 86% of all international migrant workers in Kazakhstan, followed by the Russian Federation (7%), Tajikistan (2.5%), the Kyrgyz Republic (2%), and China (0.6%), with all other countries together comprising the remaining 2.5 per cent. 

Migrant children who enter Kazakhstan through informal border crossings – primarily with Uzbekistan – often do so without registration or official documentation, which limits their ability to access services and significantly heightens their vulnerability. 

English

Russian

Kazakh