Social protection without barriers

Malika Qosimova kneels in the living room of her single-storey house, rolling dough for the traditional vegetable parcels that will feed three generations of her family.

She lives in a rural area of Sirdaryo, Eastern Uzbekistan. When low income households like hers need financial support, it’s common practice for a Mahalla (neighbourhood) Commission, made up of 15 respected community members, to hear applicants’ descriptions of their poverty, then vote on them.

“We could not tell our story while looking in their faces,” says Malika, “It was embarrassing to tell them about our situation.”

To compound this uncomfortable experience, Malika used to have to knock on dozens of government agency doors to collect the necessary papers and wait in long lines to prove that the family were not making ends meet. Then representatives would inspect her house to make sure she was not hiding any income.

“It used to take them a week to take a decision. Then they would say that I have a lot of land, there are pensioners in my family, so I would not get a child allowance. There were times when we returned home, distressed, without a penny.”

Dildora Abiyatova, a young mother from the region, tells a similar story.

“They needed a certificate of marital status, a copy of the land registry, a certificate of employment, then a family savings account, and then a certificate from three neighbours that stated whether we were working or not.”

Now, thanks to a Single Registry scheme that has been piloted in the region, both breadwinners are finding it easier to be paid the social benefits their families are due.

“The Single Registry for social protection operates independently, receiving all the necessary information from nine agencies. This information determines whether the citizen is eligible for financial assistance or not,” explains Inomiddin Yoldoshev, a mahalla leader.

“Everything has changed,” says Dildora, a smile of relief on her face. “It’s easy, because only a birth certificate, passport copy, and marriage certificate are required. Now there is no need to run around different offices.”

Malika agrees: “Now there is no commission anymore. We just submit our documents to the off-budgetary pension fund. They immediately get the result from the computer and answer that everything is fine. That means I have got approval and will receive a child allowance. After we transfer our documents we receive the answer by SMS. Not much time passes, and on the 15^th day of each month, we receive the money.”

After a hard day of labouring in the fields, Malika’s family gets together to eat her delicious manti, secure in their right to cover the basic needs of their children without stigma, bureaucracy, and uncertainty.

The Single Registry for Social Protection was implemented by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with support from UNICEF. This electronic system will efficiently connect citizens with the social allowances and services for which they are eligible. After the successful pilot in Sirdarya, the system will extend throughout Uzbekistan, making sure no one is left behind.