Stronger social protection
Social policies and programmes are critical for protecting the children from the lifelong consequences of poverty and exclusion
The challenge
According to national statistics, every second child in Kyrgyzstan lives in multidimensional poverty. This means that more than a million children are deprived of basic needs such as health care, food security, education, proper living conditions and access to finance.
Despite Kyrgyzstan spending 5.2 per cent of its GDP on social protection and direct social assistance, efforts to reduce child poverty are limited in terms of both coverage and value, with social assistance for poor children making up only 0.5 per cent of GDP.
UNICEF research has revealed that, despite national-level prioritization of poverty reduction, many children from the poorest families were missing out on social benefits because of the poor design, barriers and administrative bottlenecks. For example, families must prove that their monthly income is below KGS 1,000 to qualify for poverty-targeted benefits. However, this is difficult because approximately 70 per cent of people in Kyrgyzstan work in informal employment, making income documentation challenging.
Furthermore, Kyrgyzstan’s policy measures do not fully reflect the real needs of the most vulnerable, as beneficiaries are not represented in policy and public discourse, planning and decision-making processes.
The solution
UNICEF promotes the best interests of children in social and economic policy by helping the Kyrgyz Republic to design, budget for and implement child-responsive and shock-responsive social protection.
The Government is increasingly prioritizing social support measures as part of its strategic documents for 2018-2040 and 2021-2026. UNICEF is supporting assessments of the current programmes and the development of a new integrated social protection strategy.
UNICEF is advocating a multidimensional approach to eradicating poverty by highlighting the links between social protection, health care, education, and other relevant sectors in support of Sustainable Development Goal 1 – ending poverty in all its forms everywhere – by seeking to achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable using nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all.
The social policy measures promoted by UNICEF include:
- Providing birth certificates and personal identification numbers.
- Universal and quality health care
- Access to early childhood development services and programmes.
- Universal access to quality education that equips children with skills needed in the 21st century.
- Access to clean drinking water, sanitation and clean air both inside and outside the household.
- Coverage by social protection programmes.
- Social care services for children, so they can remain at home; violence, abuse, and neglect are addressed; and children with disabilities are supported.
These solutions require enhanced coordination, of social sectors based on detailed analysis, clear targets, and agreed indicators at national and local levels. UNICEF is working with the Government to achieve these goals by helping improve policies and resource allocation, with a focus on efficiency, effectiveness, and equity.
Resources
These resources represent a small selection of materials on the topic.