Transcript Child Wellbeing in Uzbekistan: Developing a Common Vision Preliminary results of the country study in Uzbekistan 2-4 April 2008 Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Child Wellbeing in
Uzbekistan:
Developing a Common Vision
Preliminary results of the country study in Uzbekistan
2-4 April 2008
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Living Standards in Uzbekistan (1)
Measuring approaches
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Income-based poverty (low limit of wages)
‘Community-based’ self-assessment poverty (system of social
protection through ‘makhalla’)
Consumption-based poverty (the calorie-based – 2100 k/cal)
Living Standards in Uzbekistan (2)
Public policy and measures
• Social orientation of transition period (doctrine)
• Full coverage of social policy to avoid sharp fall in living standards (in
early years of transition)
• The highest level of social policy expenditures among CIS countries
and other transition economies
• Targeted measures of public policy against individual groups of
population
• Narrowing of coverage, strengthening of targetness, increasing of
volumes
Living Standards in Uzbekistan (3)
WIS – a comprehensive approach at the national level
• Transition from ‘socially-oriented’ policy to ‘pro-poor’ macroeconomic
and institutional reforms
• Consolidation of all macroeconomic, sectoral and regional (territorial)
programs into a single strategy to provide comprehensivity
(complexity) and synergies
• Attempting to reconsider macroeconomic policy – from ‘export-led’
growth to ‘investment-led’ growth
Living Standards in Uzbekistan (4)
Regionalization and localization of WIS
• Localization of national priorities – a unified instrument for WIS
implementation
• Developing of regional development strategies: strengthening of local
capacities, complexity, priorities
• Strengthening of local (regional) capacities to ensure targetness of
fiscal, monetary and social policies for improving living standards,
especially vulnerable population groups
• Examples: Republic of Karakalpakstan, Namangan, Fergana and
Kashkadaraya Viloyats (provinces)
Child Wellbeing Profile in Uzbekistan (1)
The most sensitive categories
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C1: Children from big families
C2: Children from rural families, living in mountain and other remote
regions
C3: Children from families with single parent
C4: Children with disabilities
C5: Children from families with no temporary or permanent
registration
C6: Children in public care
C7: Street children
C8: Children of migrants
C9: Children whose parents are unemployed
Child Wellbeing Profile in Uzbekistan (2)
Analysis of Child Wellbeing through 3 segments:
• S1: Household income and expenditure patterns: analysis of
household priorities and their impact on child wellbeing
• S2: Access to public services and resources: analysis of accessibility
and quality of guaranteed public services and its implications for child
wellbeing
• S3: Welfare implications of government polices: decision-making and
policy-making processes; institutional-legal framework
Child Wellbeing Profile in Uzbekistan (3)
Measurement and indicators
• Availability and accessibility of statistical information, in particular, the
key indicators of child wellbeing (e.g., the level and concentration of
child wellbeing / poverty)
• Data incompatibilities due differing definitions, data collection and
processing methods (e.g., a lack of commonly accepted definition of
child wellbeing / poverty)
• Frequency, timeliness and disaggregation level of available data on
child wellbeing / poverty
Child Wellbeing Profile in Uzbekistan (4)
#
Child Poverty Profile Categories
Availability and/or Accordance
(number of indicators)
Proposed Profile
Global Study
Categories
C1
Children from big families
23
17
C2
Children from rural families, living in mountain and other remote
23
17
C3
Children from families with single parent
18
10
C4
Children with disabilities
13
10
C5
Children from families with no temporary or permanent registration
4
6
C6
Children in public care
5
13
C7
Street children
1
0
C8
Children of migrants
0
0
C9
Children whose parents are unemployed
0
0
Segments
S1
Household income and expenditures:
7
9
S2
Access to public services and resources
9
38
S3
Welfare implications of Government polices
11
5
Note: Most of indicators mentioned above, mainly in Global Study, either not available or the quality is under question. Therefore there is a need for further study,
including conducting a specialized survey.
Policy Environment and Institutions:
policy priorities (1)
Priorities of social and economic policies reflects the main components
of human development doctrine
 Employment and income generation
◦ Targeted employment programs
◦ Private sector development
◦ Elasticity of employment with respect to economic growth is low. For every one
percentage point change in the economic growth rate, there is, on average, a 0.30.4 percentage point increase in formal-sector employment. At the same time
employment does not always protect from poverty.
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Strong focus on guaranteeing protection for the vulnerable groups
◦ Pensions, allowances and other transfers plays important role in supporting
vulnerable groups, including poor families with children
◦ Some allowances are allocated specifically for families with children
◦ Despite wide coverage (1) targeting is good but can be improved, not all elements
of social protection achieve the goal (2) the amount paid to a household can be
inadequate to protect the family, (3) there are no guarantees that money paid to
the family will be used in the best interest of the child.
Policy Environment and Institutions:
policy priorities (2)
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Focus on development of education
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Focus on development of healthcare system
◦ Considerable investments in infrastructure
◦ Almost universal access to primary and secondary education, high rates of
literacy
◦ Focus on development of professional education
◦ At the same time the quality of services does it not meet the requirements of
labor market. It limits the opportunities for productive employment.
◦ Development of primary healthcare, particularly in rural areas
◦ Specific attention to the focus on reproductive and maternal health, and child
health
◦ Balanced nutrition, access to drinking water and sanitation – focus on root
causes, not on consequences.
◦ But, (1) accessibility and quality of health care services can be improved, (2)
more efforts are needed to improve living conditions and health of the
population.
Policy Environment and Institutions:
strategy and policy measures
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No child poverty profile
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• policy measures no not address the needs of vulnerables
• insufficient coverage of vulnerable groups
low efficiency
of poverty reduction measures
At the• same
time:
◦ In accordance with WIS and other strategic documents essential structural
reforms will be continued to maintain long-term sustainability of the economy
◦ This implies trade-offs for particular groups of population
◦ Social policy will play an important role compensating those trade-offs, including
protection of children
◦ Effective institutions are needed to improve social policy (situation analysis,
policy formulation, implementation and revision)
Policy Environment and Institutions: implementation
mechanisms
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Policy formulation:
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Policy implementation:
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◦ Lack of bottom-up signals and inadequate policies and inadequate policy
measures
◦ Lack of capacities to assess policy implications on child wellbeing during policy
formulation
◦ Inability to program clear outcomes
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Insufficient and untimely financing
Lack of institutional and human capacities on the local level
Unclear distribution of powers and responsibilities
Inability to localize policies and ensure that outcomes are achieved
Program and strategy monitoring and assessment:
◦ Weakness/absence of monitoring systems
◦ Lack of flexibility in policy formulation and implementation, particularly on local
level
Partnership in preparation of Country Study
Cabinet of Ministers
(implementor of researchbased policy advise)
- Consensus building and
coordination of efforts
Key line ministries
(expert support)
- Optimization of policies and
measures, strengthening of
monitoring and evaluation system
Goscomstat
(information and statistical
support)
- Local capacity building
CER/ASSC
(analytical support)
Discussion platform
(brainstormings, round tables, conferences, outreach and visibility)