Report

Supporting National Social Protection Systems to Respond in Times of Crisis

A case study on UNICEF's experience in Kyrgyzstan

On 2 July 2010, Gulnara Kozybaeva sits with her daughter Akmaral, 4, and son Nurbek, 2, outside their burnt-out home in Furkat District, in the southern city of Osh. Their house was destroyed during riots in the recent conflict. Their large ethnic Kyrgyz family now shares a tent in the courtyard of their home.

UNICEF/UNI89985/Estey

Highlights

Social protection systems are increasingly being used to provide emergency assistance during times of crisis. These systems allow for more effective, efficient and sustainable solutions in delivering aid than creating parallel responses. This report documents an intervention by the State Agency for Social Welfare¹ of the Kyrgyz Republic, supported by UNICEF, to design and implement a horizontal expansion of the national social protection system to provide cash assistance to vulnerable households affected by inter-ethnic conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010. The case study documents UNICEF’s experiences, the processes followed and the
lessons learned.

¹Now the Ministry of Labour and Social Development