TO PROMOTE SOCIAL PROTECTION REFORMS United Nations in Tajikistan JOINT EFFORTS TO PROMOTE SOCIAL PROTECTION REFORMS April 28, 2017

Content SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION SOCIAL PROTECTION ISSUES IN TAJIKISTAN UN EFFORTS IN SOCIAL PROTECTION CURRENT PROGRESS AND LESSONS LEARNT

UN agencies active in social protection

Socio-economic situation GDP: Growth by 6.4% in 2015, 6.6% in 2016, 4-5% in 2017-18 Monetary Poverty: 31.3% in 2015, 30.6% in 2016 The fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Tajik Somoni against the USD have contributed to the increase of foodstuff prices Almost 20 per cent of HHs could not afford medical care for their children during July-December 2016, children in 11 per cent of HHs ate twice a day only. Registered Tajik migrants in Russia: 1 mln in 2014 vs 879,000 in 2016 Remittances constituted 49 per cent of the GDP in 2013 and hit a peak at $4.3 billion in 2013. By 2015, fallen to $2.6 billion - a 60 per cent drop 36,292 re-entry banned migrants, only 3,692 (10%) were officially employed in Tajikistan

Social protection issues in Tajikistan Insufficient coverage of the population in need for social protection Poor targeting with some vulnerable groups of the population excluded Small size of benefits which can merely affect the well-being of the target population Inefficient governance and institutional set-up of social protection, fragmented SP system Insufficient funding for social protection and lack of efficiency in budget implementation Lack of coordination between social protection and other sectors Lack of data, analysis and evidence based decision making system (a centralized data base that would allow better targeting)

Vulnerable groups and social protection Yes No People with disabilities Unemployed, including returned migrants People engaged in vulnerable employment Abandoned migrant families (mostly female headed households) Poor households Youth NEET People affected by natural disasters Children living with HIV

Un efforts in social protection Technical assistance in the development of the new life-cycle-based Social Protection Strategy (including an assessment) Reinforcing the Government capacity in data analysis, presentation and usage Technical assistance in the review of social services at local level and advocacy for the reform process Assessment Based National Dialogue on Social Protection Floors Collaboration with the World Bank in real time monitoring of the impact of the economic crisis and advocacy for policy measures Joint UN planning and implementation (UNDAF) with a results group dedicated to social protection results Ensuring development partners’ cooperation and coordination (DCC Working Group on Social Protection)

Current progress A Government unit on social protection policy analysis is established and operational (UNICEF, UNDP) Newly developed Social Protection Strategy defines measures around four life stages (pregnancy and early childhood, learning age, working age, old age) and encompasses four social protection roles (UNICEF, ILO, UNHCR, UNDP, WFP) Social Assistance at Home Units are reviewed and consultations are commenced around implementation of the changes proposed (UNDP, UNICEF) Joint capacity development events are organized based on the current capacity needs of the Gov-t institutions (UNDP, UNICEF) Real-time monitoring results support the on-going policy advocacy (Listening to Tajikistan, FSMS) (UNICEF, WFP)

Lessons learnt Having joint UN plans developed and signed is not sufficient for achieving joint results UN agencies need to better coordinate their vision and objectives, strategies (to be complementary) and their related action plans in order to avoid duplication, replication and scattering of resources and efforts. Government ownership and proactive participation is necessary from the very beginning of any process UN agencies need to jointly boost capacity of the Government institutions in data analysis, presentation and usage UN agencies need to have a stronger voice and advocate for a coordinated and costed social protection strategy at highest level of Government

Contact for information: CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMAITON: YUSUF KURBONKHOJAEV SOCIAL POLICY OFFICER UNICEF TAJIKISTAN ykurbonkojaev@unicef.org