On December 13, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting to review Uzbekistan’s progress in social protection and poverty reduction, while setting targets for 2025. During the session, the president highlighted the achievements of 2024, particularly in improving the lives of people with disabilities and tackling poverty.
Expanding Support to Vulnerable Populations
As part of Uzbekistan’s efforts to enhance the standard of living for individuals with disabilities, President Mirziyoyev noted that social workers went door-to-door, providing assistance to 95,000 people not previously registered for support. Of these, 51,000 were living with disabilities, 26,000 received prosthetics, and 5,000 children with disabilities were placed in kindergartens and schools.
Additionally, the teams overseeing this initiative successfully identified and stopped unjustified disability benefit payments to those who were not eligible, contributing to a reduction in budgetary expenses.
Poverty Reduction and Employment Initiatives
Three months ago, President Mirziyoyev assigned 14,000 leaders in the regions and districts to work with 75,000 families living in poverty. As a result of this initiative, significant progress has been made:
- 17,000 individuals have found full-time employment,
- 14,000 people have increased their income through entrepreneurship and homesteading,
- 30,000 children have been placed in kindergartens, clubs, and vocational training,
- 45,000 people have received necessary medical assistance.
However, the president noted that not all regional leaders had effectively executed their duties. “Not all leaders are able to properly organize the employment of the needy population, increase their income, and provide targeted social services,” he stated. He specifically highlighted that 1,000 leaders assigned to poverty-stricken families failed to show results, with 184 of them never visiting the homes of these families.
Improving Support for People with Disabilities
The president also drew attention to the need for further improvement in the employment of people with disabilities. While the national employment rate for persons with disabilities has reached 20%, the districts of Zhalakuduk, Chimboy, Pastdargam, Chortok, and Denov have not yielded satisfactory results. President Mirziyoyev instructed local officials to make these districts exemplary and set specific tasks for each district leader.
Accessibility in Social Infrastructure
Another concern raised by the president was the accessibility of social facilities. Out of 598 social facilities planned for inclusion in the 2025 Investment Program, the president criticized the fact that many of these were not designed to be accessible for people with disabilities. He ordered the khokims (local governors) of these regions and districts to correct these issues and ensure that one exemplary street is created in each region this year to provide comfortable conditions for people with disabilities.
Work has already begun in Andijan, Samarkand, Surkhandarya, and Tashkent regions, but other areas have not yet prepared projects or allocated funds for the initiative. Officials have been tasked with completing this work within two months, and by 2025, one additional exemplary street will be built in each district.
Accountability Measures
The president instructed Deputy Prosecutor General I. Adhamov to take strict measures against those who have not made progress on these tasks. This ensures that the efforts to support vulnerable populations and improve accessibility remain on track and achieve the desired outcomes.
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