Open dialogue: social sphere - yesterday, today, tomorrow
03/03/2021 20:31
Open dialogue: social sphere - yesterday, today, tomorrow
03/03/2021 20:31
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - Today, in Tashkent, at the initiative of the National Association of Electronic Media of Uzbekistan (NAESMI) and the National Association of Non-State Non-Profit Organizations of Uzbekistan (NANNOUz), a meeting was held between representatives of non-state electronic media, NGOs, deputies of the Legislative Chamber of Parliament and youth with members of the government Uzbekistan on the topic "Open dialogue: social sphere - yesterday, today, tomorrow." The group of leaders and representatives of the public sector was headed by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Begzod Musayev.
During the dialogue, journalists and government officials discussed the effectiveness of reforms in the social sphere.
The statistics of the last four years show massive financial inflows and institutional changes. So, in 2017-2020, 188.8 trillion soums (22 billion US dollars) were allocated to the social sector.
Among the priority areas are the sectors of education, sports and culture, science and innovation, social protection of vulnerable groups of the population. By far, the most expensive part of last year, as in the whole world, was the healthcare sector - US$96 million was urgently allocated only for the construction of special hospitals, quarantine complexes and modern laboratories specializing in the treatment of COVID patients.
- The year 2020 has become a “test of strength” for everyone who works in the social sphere. These people especially showed themselves. The bulk of the budget funds was directed to support doctors fighting the pandemic, the construction of distribution centers in Tashkent and the regions, the repair and reconstruction of schools and kindergartens, financial assistance to those in need, - said Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Begzod Musayev. - The systematic continuation of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is still a priority of the country’s most important tasks.
The state budget for 2021 has formed a reserve in the amount of 3 trillion soums. These funds will also be used to vaccinate the population against coronavirus infection.
“Together with the Chinese academicians, the 1st and 2nd phases of clinical trials of a joint vaccine have been successfully completed in Uzbekistan,” said Ibrohim Abdurakhmonov, Minister of Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan. - Now the third stage is underway, in which 7 thousand people are involved. Soon, about 1 million doses of the Uzbek-Chinese vaccine will be delivered to Uzbekistan. To improve the quality of work and improve the material and technical base of the sanitary and epidemiological service, the creation of modern laboratories will be allocated 200 million dollars.
It is important to note that the relatively quick exit of Uzbekistan from the COVID-19 pandemic proved the viability of domestic medicine and was primarily due to the systematic reforms carried out in the past 4 years and the personal attention of the country’s leader to the industry. An increase in the salary of medical workers by 1.5 times, an increase in the number of specialized medical centers to 18, the creation of 310 special departments in the regions, an increase in the number of ambulances from 818 to 1666 and its availability for residents of remote regions, an increase in the vehicle fleet, construction and repair of more than 1700 medical institutions worth 5 trillion soums and the development of private medicine had a significant impact on both the quality of health care and the level of public confidence in domestic medicine.
The budget of the education system, which is strategically important for the country, has increased 3.3 times over the past four years. By the end of the year, the priority is to increase the coverage of preschool education up to 65%. As noted by the Minister of Preschool Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan Agrippina Shin, the creation of 2 thousand non-state kindergartens at the expense of subsidies from the budget in the amount of 600 billion soums will allow reaching this figure. “More than half a million 6-year-olds will be covered by the free school preparation system. This is 82 percent of children of this age,” she commented.
Accelerated reforms in the field of public education continue. In 2021, 2 trillion soums will be allocated from the budget for the construction of 31 new schools, the repair of 320 schools and the improvement of the material and technical base. In addition, teachers who teach in a school located in a different area will receive an additional 50 percent increase, and those who work in a different area will receive a 100 percent increase.
Also, subsidies will be allocated from the budget to stimulate the activities of private schools in the regions. In 2021, 10 Presidential schools and 197 specialized schools with in-depth study of chemistry, biology, mathematics and information technology will open in our country.
“This year 330 billion soums will be directed to regional funds to stimulate public education,” Minister of Public Education Sherzod Shermatov said in his speech. - At the same time, salaries will be increased 1.5 times for more than 240 thousand school teachers. For these purposes, 400 billion soums will be allocated from the budget.
The reforms also affected the institution of the mahalla. Now the state of affairs in the mahalla is planned to be made the main criterion in assessing the work of ministries, departments and khokimiyats. Last year, the country began to introduce the practice of directing at least 10 percent of the overfulfilled part of regional budgets directly to solving problems in makhallas. In general, 70 billion soums were allocated for this. Now this practice will expand: mahallas will also receive 5 percent of the expenditure side of the district budget. Another innovation this year is the introduced system for the promotion of qualified and proactive personnel working in the mahalla to leading positions in state bodies.
The issues of social support for families and protection of women are under special control. The statistics of the last four years show the growing civic and business activity of women. The issue of social support has become not only a government task: commercial banks have joined the program of lending to women entrepreneurship, home work and gardening on an equal basis with the State Fund for Support of Women and Families. The total amount allocated to support entrepreneurship amounted to 6.9 trillion soums. About 8 thousand low-income women living in difficult living conditions were provided with affordable housing.
Representatives of the non-governmental sector also made a number of proposals aimed at strengthening the issues of social protection of the population. Thus, it was proposed to revive the system of patronage for single mothers with a disabled child and to combine the efforts of the state, the private sector and volunteer services in providing assistance in social issues.
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