Social Protection
Prevention and elimination of the social and economic vulnerabilities of children and their families
UNICEF is a key partner of the Uzbekistan government to address social protection challenges for vulnerable group of population, particularly children, adolescents, and their families. Our support encompass such key areas as (1) translating social protection objectives into laws and policies as well as ensuring adequate financing for social protection; (2) Providing technical assistance to establish and expand national cash transfer programs, including conducting core diagnostics, developing registries, implementing monitoring and evaluation systems; (3) advocating for responsive and transformative social protection systems, including those that are gender-responsive and disability-inclusive; (4) strengthening the resilience and responsiveness of social protection systems to shocks, such as those caused by climate change, economic crises, conflicts, etc., to reduce vulnerability and provide support during humanitarian crises.
UNICEF's strategic support in Uzbekistan has led to significant benefits for vulnerable groups of population. The coverage of children by cash transfers tripled compared to 2021 and in 2023 amounted to 40 per cent coverage of children.
Through the implementation of the Single Registry of Social Protection, over 4.8 million children from low-income families received child benefits, while over 60,000 caregivers of children with disabilities and more than 16,000 women received maternity benefits. This support involved the establishment of eligibility criteria, benefit schemes, application and payment processes, and monitoring mechanisms.
Furthermore, UNICEF's advocacy efforts and technical assistance contributed to the establishment of the National Agency for Social Protection, consolidating social protection functions and integrating child protection, disability inclusion, and violence prevention against children and women.
UNICEF collaborated with the government to enhance the readiness of Uzbekistan's social protection system to address shocks. This included developing a report assessing the system's preparedness for emergencies and proposing legal amendments. Additionally, UNICEF conducted a study on the role of cash transfers in responding to heatwaves, highlighting their impact on children and vulnerable populations, and enhanced the capacities of 25 key officials from 16 various ministries to scale up emergency cash transfers during crises.
UNICEF's strategic focus remains around assistance to enhance the effectiveness and coverage of cash assistance programs in Uzbekistan, including for vulnerable groups like children with disabilities and their caregivers. This involves supporting child benefit reforms, generating evidence on their impact and barriers to access, and engaging in discussions on other social protection benefit programmes such as maternity benefits.
Efforts are underway to analyze cost of access to services for families with disabled children, strengthen national capacity to deliver comprehensive social protection at national and local levels.
UNICEF is aiding in the development of legislative frameworks for shock-responsive social protection, delivering cash support during shocks through the e-module within the Single Registry for Social Protection and analyzing disaster risk financing strategies to ensure effective response mechanisms in times of crisis.