On Nov. 9, 2018, in Tashkent, the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, UNICEF, the World Bank, and International Labor Organization jointly organized a workshop titled “Uzbekistan Social Protection System Assessment”.
It was attended by representatives of the governmental and non-governmental organizations, research and financial institutions.
The primary objective of the workshop was to validate the preliminary results of an assessment of the social protection system in Uzbekistan done by UNICEF, WB and ILO at the request of the Government.
Social protection system still remains fragmented in Uzbekistan. This leads to inefficiencies of social protection investments as well as low quality of social services.
The participants of the event stressed that the need for national Social Protection Strategy and creation of a single body responsible for social protection sector would improve effectiveness of the sector and enhance coordination between different social programs and ensure access to social services for vulnerable groups of population.
“Uzbekistan has a strong history of social protection of the population by the Government, as well as by the communities themselves. Yet, in the recent years the system became fragmented leading to inefficiencies and gaps in coverage and quality of services. The social protection system reform must be prioritized to ensure that the most vulnerable population is well protected against the risks and shocks,” said Yulia Oleinik, Chief of Social Policy, UNICEF Uzbekistan.
