Evidence for Action:

Highlights

The Kyrgyz Republic’s social protection system urgently needs reform to address immediate needs of more than one million children living in poverty and to enable more productive investment in programmes for children’s human capital formation and protection, so they are empowered to become competitive actors in the labour market and valuable members of society.

Currently, too few children receive the social assistance or social care services they are entitled to. The sustained growth in informal employment and state-subsidized old-age pensions increases the burden on the social protection budgets.

This will eventually inflate the future envelop for social benefit for individuals who do not currently contribute to Social Fund. By incentivising contributions to a more inclusive Social Fund, the government can redirect more spending toward children.

Supporting vulnerable households’ resilience and income potential will enable them to invest in forming of human capital (schooling; skills-training; health care) and enable high-value participants in the workforce including through entrepreneurs.

The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic is making significant strides to improve the well-being of vulnerable children and their families. In 2024, the President enacted a law introducing new benefit for children aged 0-3 living in high mountain and border areas. The latter contributes to improving the quality-of-life of mountain communities in line with the country Mountainous Agenda.

In 2025 a decree was issued to hire 550 child protection social workers, backed by earmarked funding. In November 2024 at the first ever Global Ministerial Conference on ending violence against children in Bogota, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic made several pledges including to develop a national strategic framework in addressing violence against children 2025-20230, ban corporal punishment in all settings, ensure parenting programmes and enable a safe learning environment in schools. These initiatives aim to provide social support, ensuring that children receive the necessary care and protection to thrive.