Improving Social Security of vulnerable populations in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan lacks a social insurance (SI) law, resulting in fragmented benefits through ad-hoc and general revenue-financed social assistance programs. A 2022 ILO study found that 44% of Uzbekistan's population lacked access to social protection, including 93.7% of pregnant women and 94% of unemployed persons. The National Agency for Social Protection (NASP) is a new entity called upon to coordinate social protection policies, programmes, and services dispersed across fifteen government agencies. Established in June 2023, NASP requires technical support to design and implement the new SI law, set to take effect in 2025, starting with maternity benefits and expanding to other social benefits by 2027-2028. In particular, NASP must be capacitated to define and monitor eligibility criteria, manage benefit payments, ensure legal compliance, and conduct actuarial analysis for sustainable design and financing. The current Joint Programme aims to address this need in technical support. The Joint Programme develops a roadmap to align Uzbekistan's SI law and its by-laws with Convention 183 on Maternity Protection, ensuring health protection, maternity leave, benefits, and non-discrimination for employed women.

Project symbol

UZB/24/51/UND

Admin unit

DWT/CO-Moscow

Start date

16/12/2024

End date

26/12/2026

Total allocation

140000

Total expenditure

Status

Active

70726

Development Partners

Multi Partner Trust Fund Office, UNDP

Country/Countries

Uzbekistan

Outcomes

Outcome 7: Universal social protection