From 2026, the Social Protection Fund will start paying maternity and childbirth benefits. In the second half of that year, payments for temporary incapacity to work will also be introduced.
This was announced at a presentation held on October 29 with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The new system will gradually cover all formally employed people with payments from the fund. Currently, the "From Poverty to Prosperity" program is being implemented in Uzbekistan. Within the framework of this program, the poverty rate, which was 17% in 2021, decreased to 6.8% in 2023. In addition, the share of socially assisted families considered low-income decreased from 14% to 6.1%.
However, some problems remain: all employees in the private sector are not provided with payments in cases of pregnancy, illness, or dismissal. Employers often view such expenses as an additional burden, and the amounts of benefits paid from the budget still remain low.
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