What are their needs?

Health issues are a concern among the Karakalpak. The main causes of Karakalpak health problems are a combination of poverty and poor diet, the collapse of the former Soviet health system and the pollution of water supplies by herbicides and defoliants formerly used on the cotton crop. However there have been recent definite improvements in Karakalpak heath care. Infant mortality, once a problem, has declined to approximately 1.8% (2003) thanks to many projects and initiatives and the trend continues downward. The incidence of certain diseases like tuberculosis, anaemia, thyroid ailments, and cancers is higher in the Aral delta than in other parts of Central Asia, but the trend is downward and encouraging.

Very few Karakalpaks have ever heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and among those who have heard, very few have responded. There are only a few reported church members in the republic.

Prayer Points

* Pray that the Lord will send Christian medical teams to work among the Karakalpaks.
* Pray for a clean water source for the Karakalpaks.
* Ask the Lord to call people who are willing to go to Uzbekistan and share Christ with the Karakalpaks.
* Pray that the non-religious Karakalpaks will begin searching for the Truth.
* Ask God to strengthen, encourage, and protect the few known Christians and for the Lord to raise up strong local churches among the Karakalpak.
* Pray that these believers will have opportunities to share the Gospel with their own people.
* Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the Karakalpaks towards Christians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
* Pray that God will reveal Himself to the Karakalpaks through dreams and visions.