UNICEF and the Government of Turkmenistan discuss ways to nurture family environment as the best setting for childcare

Ashgabat, 25 April 2023 – UNICEF in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education convened a round table meeting where the next steps for strengthening the childcare and family protection system in Turkmenistan were discussed. As the result of the event, the participants acquired a better understanding of the need to expand the social services workforce, to finetune the roles and responsibilities of the social sector ministries and to update existing national regulations on child and family care. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, Ministry of Interior, State Statistics Committee, local authorities of Ashgabat, and NGOs.

A protective, loving and enabling family environment is the best setting for every child. To achieve that, every state in the world should invest in a strong social and child protection system - one that can identify vulnerable families and children and provide them with the social services that meet their specific needs.

This is why, UNICEF and the Government of Turkmenistan work together to strengthen the system of child and family protection in Turkmenistan, which is rooted in rich Turkmen traditions, aligns with the Country Programme Document for 2021-2025 and with the priorities stated in the speech of H.E. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Chair of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan to the members of Mejlis in 2022.

UNICEF commended the efforts of the State Statistics Committee and line Ministries on regular reporting to the Transformative Monitoring for Enhanced Equity (TransMonEE) database. TransMonEE is one of the main data sources for monitoring of child rights in the region. UNICEF also recommended to prioritize family-type care settings, increase the number of social workers, and promote case management approach to support individual and family situations.

“The task of creating family and community-based care is enormous. It is the role of the national Government, local authorities and social care practitioners to assist families and communities to ensure that all children receive the family care they need. Historically, the people of Turkmenistan are known to provide strong family and community care to children without parental care,” said Jahan Allamisheva, representative of the Ministry of Education.