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ISLAMABAD, October 14 (APP):Uzbekistan is witnessing a sweeping transformation under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s reform agenda, which since 2017 has combined economic liberalization with a powerful drive to expand social welfare and reduce poverty.
Enshrined in the 2023 Constitution, which defines Uzbekistan as a social state, these reforms guarantee employment, social protection, and a better quality of life for all citizens, said the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Islamabad on Tuesday.
Central to this vision is the Uzbekistan-2030 national strategy, which sets an ambitious target of halving poverty by 2026. By 2023, the newly created National Agency for Social Protection (NASP) and a network of ‘Inson’ community service centres had delivered assistance to nearly 2.3 million low-income families, almost four times more than in 2017. Pension and disability payments also increased by about 50% in real terms, reflecting a tangible improvement in household welfare.
The ‘Inson’ centres, now operating as one-stop community hubs across the country, provide citizens with simplified access to benefits and services. They embody a new, client-oriented approach to social welfare, supported by a unified digital registry that tracks assistance for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with disabilities. By 2023, this registry had catalogued around 17,800 individuals whose cases are reviewed quarterly to ensure adaptive and timely support.
The World Bank has been a key partner in advancing these reforms, providing over $2.1 billion between 2018 and 2021 to support structural transformation in employment, governance, and social protection. In 2024, the Bank approved an additional $100 million for the ‘Inson’ project, which will establish more than 50 community-based service centres and extend support to over 50,000 vulnerable citizens, including children, older persons, and the disabled.
Within the framework of the government’s ‘From Poverty to Prosperity’ program, launched in November 2024, families receive comprehensive support across seven key areas, ranging from employment and education to healthcare, housing, and community infrastructure. Over 600,000 families have already accessed 1.3 million services aimed at raising income and improving employability, while members of these families have benefited from more than 2.2 million guaranteed healthcare services.
For citizens requiring continuous care, a new public-private model now delivers home assistance, rehabilitation, and personal support. About 13,800 individuals, three-quarters of those in need, urrently receive such services from private providers. By 2030, the government aims to extend social services to at least 3 million people annually, with the non-state sector expected to account for 30% of service provision.
As part of the ‘From Poverty to Prosperity’ initiative, a National Registry of Poor Families has been created at the community (mahalla) level, identifying over 667,000 families, or 2.8 million individuals. The impact has been striking: in just nine months, the average per capita income of registered families nearly doubled, rising from 174,000 soums (USD 14) to 338,000 soums (USD 27) per month. Around 150,000 families have successfully escaped poverty, with 70% doing so through formal employment.
To ensure targeted and sustainable assistance, families are now categorized as red, yellow, or green, reflecting different levels of vulnerability. This system allows for customized support-ranging from priority care and training programs to preventive measures that help families avoid falling back into poverty.
Investing in human capital remains a cornerstone of the reforms. The state covers up to 90% of the education costs for children from poor households, and in 2025 alone, 125,000 children gained subsidized access to preschools. New programs such as daycare for children with disabilities and ‘Step into an Active Life’ for the elderly are enabling caregivers especially women to join the workforce.
For many families, these initiatives have been life-changing. Olima Almatova Qorabekovna, a 67-year-old resident of the Ezgulik mahalla in Tashkent region, expressed gratitude for the assistance that helped her start a small family business. “When help arrived under the President’s decision, I could hardly believe it,” she said. “We planted cucumbers and tomatoes, and soon the income began to come in. Feeding even one family is difficult, yet he is taking care of millions.”
Uzbekistan’s social protection reforms are redefining the relationship between the state and its citizens moving from short-term aid to empowerment, from welfare dependency to opportunity. By linking social care with employment, education, and community development, President Mirziyoyev’s administration is laying the foundation for a more inclusive and resilient economy, one where prosperity is shared across society.