In 2016, the United Nations in Uzbekistan and the Government formed a result group to jointly address the social protection needs of vulnerable people.
Chaired by the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations Aktam Khaitov and UNICEF Representative Sascha Graumann, the group met today to review the progress of implementation of the work plan for 2016-2017 and recognized the satisfactory progress, as a reflection of the commitment of the Government and the UN agencies in Uzbekistan in supporting the most vulnerable population groups, particularly during the time of economic reforms.
The joint work plan for 2016-2017 included the UN’s support to the Government in critical areas such as conducting situational analysis of people with disabilities, contribution to the implementation of the public finance management reform, modelling of family support services, developing mandatory standards for needs assessment of the lonely elderly, as well as service provision guidelines for women and children in difficult life situations. It also covered services to address the special needs of vulnerable children at-risk of being institutionalized.
The participants also considered possible areas of collaboration for 2018-2020. This action plan addresses the development challenges identified by the Strategy for Actions on five priority areas for the development of Uzbekistan in the years 2017-2021 and the Practical Roadmap on Further Cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United Nations for 2017-2020, recently endorsed by the Government and UN agencies in Uzbekistan.
Going forward, the group plans to engage in social protection policy and system reform, social work development, measures to improving the wellbeing of vulnerable groups including people and children with disabilities, low income families, lonely elderly, among others. Another area of collaboration includes strengthening Government’s capacity in development and implementation of youth policy, including fostering greater participation.
“It is important to develop a mechanism and tools for effective implementation of our joint plans to ensure targeted social protection of vulnerable population. This is one of the priority areas of Government’s social policy,” said Aktam Khaitov, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations and Co-chair of the Result Group.
Today’s meeting for the first time, included relevant international donor agencies. “We would like to foster greater coherence among partners and dialogue to further support the Government’s policies and initiatives in social protection,” said Sasha Graumann, UNICEF Representative in Uzbekistan and Co-chair of the Result Group. “This platform also provides opportunities for better donor coordination,” he added.
