JOINT STATEMENT

Statement by ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank welcoming the establishment of a Social Protection Agency

Statement | 01 June 2023
TASHKENT, 1 June 2023 – ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank welcome the establishment of the National Social Protection Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. As the leading agencies supporting the social protection reform globally and in Uzbekistan, we believe this will be a critical step for advancing Uzbekistan’s Social Protection Agenda and the implementation of the National Social Protection Strategy, and, Uzbekistan’s national development targets and the SDGs, which are geared towards reducing and preventing poverty, vulnerability, and social exclusion of individuals and families throughout the life cycle.

The Agency is mandated to coordinate, facilitate, and provide comprehensive and integrated social protection systems to ensure the prevention of vulnerabilities and the protection of those left behind. We firmly believe that the newly established Agency will be crucial to help address fragmentation or gaps in the social protection functions and strengthen monitoring and evaluation of the social protection system. Furthermore, we are glad to see that the Agency will have a special focus on child protection and disability inclusion priorities, in alignment with the Conventions and treaties.  This newly established Agency provides a clear and authoritative focal point for the development of social protection policy which brings together social security and social services and linkages with employment, as well as other services. We hope that the Agency will steer the overall national social protection policy framework, lead in the design of individual programmes, and ensure coherence while overseeing evidence-based implementation and delivery of interventions.

Under the Agency, we see immense opportunities in Uzbekistan to build adaptive and , responsive social protection, to help strengthen families and children resilience to protracted, slow or sudden onset of shocks and crises affecting their well-being.

ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank stand ready to continue supporting the Government of Uzbekistan in advancing social protection for all in the country.