On April 29, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a videoconference on measures to further strengthen the social protection of vulnerable segments of the population.

In the new Development Strategy of Uzbekistan, support for categories of the population in need of support, as well as poverty eradication was identified as a priority of the state policy based on the principles of social justice. This is a logical continuation of the ongoing work on building a state that cares about the people.

In recent years, a new system of assistance to those in need has been created. Within its framework, about 1.5 thousand children of orphanages were adopted into families, 116 family orphanages were organized, and conditions were created for the upbringing of about 700 boys and girls in family conditions.

Last year, 757 orphans were provided with housing. At the expense of the state, complex operations were carried out on 4 thousand children.

The scale of support for citizens with disabilities has also expanded. In particular, last year about 42 thousand people received rehabilitation, prosthetic and orthopedic products, 555 children with hearing impairment were fitted with cochlear implants, and 4 thousand blind children were given the Braille alphabet.

A new system has been introduced: benefits for 500 thousand UZS are being paid to mothers of about 35 thousand children in need of care.

In addition, disabled children, as well as persons with disabilities of the first and second groups are exempt from paying income tax on monthly wages of up to 2.5 million UZS. The amount of social tax paid by employers to employees with disabilities is fully compensated from the budget.

At the same time, the minimum amount of pensions and benefits have been increased by 40 percent. In general, the number of recipients of benefits increased from 466 thousand in 2016 to 1 million 860 thousand in 2022.

A large number of people have been supported through charitable foundations and public initiatives.

Further measures to expand these good deeds, strengthen the atmosphere of attention and care in society were defined at the meeting.

There are more than 3 million representatives of the older generation in Uzbekistan. With the creation of the Ministry for Support of Mahalla and Family, a system of caring for them has been established.

It was noted that the costs of the elderly for annual treatment in sanatoriums, the costs of low-income elderly people for the purchase of medicines and orthopedic products, and surgical operations will be covered by the state.

Several benefits will be introduced for the elderly to visit sports facilities, theaters and museums, and travel around the country.

A Presidential Decree was signed today on increasing the number of pensions and benefits by 12 percent from May 1 to provide material support to those in need.

This will bring additional money to the budget of 4.1 million households. 4 trillion UZS will be allocated to finance pensions and benefits this year.

In addition, the pension amount of 725 thousand people receiving a minimum pension will be increased by 14 percent.

In addition, on the eve of May 9, the participants of the war will receive a one-time monetary reward of 15 million UZS.

The expansion of the support system for people with disabilities in need has been announced. In particular, from May 1, enterprises with employees with disabilities will receive a subsidy of 400 thousand UZS for each such employee for 6 months.

Subsidies will also be given to persons with disabilities – self-employed and artisans – for the purchase of tools and equipment. They will be trained in professions at the expense of the state. The Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations has been given the appropriate instruction.

Non-governmental organizations of persons with disabilities, and their territorial branches will be able to receive state subsidies for the payment of salaries to their employees.

To cover the blind and visually impaired children with full-fledged education, 850 additional classes and 1.2 thousand places in dormitories will be created in “Nurli Maskan” schools from the new academic year. Based on the state order, the libraries of these schools will be provided with textbooks and manuals, fiction in Braille.

The responsible ministries were tasked with gradually organizing one-year preparatory groups for blind children of kindergarten age.

In addition, over 3 thousand hearing-impaired children will be provided with modern hearing aids. A 50% salary supplement will be introduced for all employees of special boarding schools.

Annually 108 boarding schools for children with disabilities will be provided with more than 20 thousand books of special literature.

Attention to elderly people with disabilities will increase. For example, now there are no payments for about a thousand people who do not have work experience and live in nursing homes. From now on, they will also be paid money for personal expenses in the amount of 20 percent of the old-age allowance.

Currently, disability pensions are calculated based on work experience and previous salary. This directly affects the incomes of more than 75 thousand working people with disabilities.

Now their pensions will be recalculated every two years and indexed depending on the length of service and salary. An additional 300 billion UZS will be allocated for these purposes.

The procedure for allocating funds from the budget to family orphanages will also be simplified. Money for daily expenses will be transferred to the parents’ plastic card.

In addition, utility bills of family orphanages will be charged at the rates set for the population.

The practice of allocating 10 million UZS for the purchase of food and clothing for students who are orphans or left without parental care will also extend to non-state universities.

A separate program worth 600 billion UZS will be adopted to repair and equip 376 orphanages and nursing homes, and special boarding schools.

The Head of the state noted the need for strengthening the social protection of working women.

The share of women in the non-governmental sector is 57%. Many employers prefer not to officially register women for work in order not to pay maternity benefits.

In this regard, from September 2022, the procedure for partial compensation of maternity payments from the state budget will be established. To this end, a Social Insurance Fund will be created under the Ministry of Finance, which will receive 170 billion UZS from the budget this year.

Ramadan is a month of kindness and mercy. In this regard, the President signed a decree pardoning 65 people who committed a crime by mistake, deeply realized their guilt and resolutely embarked on the path of correction. Thanks to this, they will be able to meet Ramadan Hayit at home, with their family.

Streets and courtyards will be landscaped, families without a breadwinner, lonely elderly and disabled people will be visited on holidays.

“We should not forget that easing worries is, as the great thinker Alisher Navoi said, the highest example of humanity, and working under this motto is not only our official duty, but also a moral duty”, the Head of the state said.

Responsible persons were instructed to fulfill the tasks of financial assistance defined at the meeting, as well as to visit representatives of socially vulnerable segments of the population on holidays, give them gifts and monetary rewards.

Source: UzA