Uzbekistan: Strengthening the Social Protection System Project

The development objective of the Strengthening Social Protection System Project for Uzbekistan is to improve inclusion of poor and vulnerable people in the social assistance system and labor market, including those affected by the economic reforms in Uzbekistan. The project comprises of three components. The first component, modernizing the social safety net objective is to improve the effectiveness of key social interventions by better identifying the poor and vulnerable and providing timely and predictable benefits to address their needs. It consists of following sub-components: (i) enhancing and rolling out the single registry; and (ii) improving the effectiveness of social benefits. The second component, improving the effectiveness of active labor market programs objective is to support a larger number of jobseekers access formal job opportunities through improved effectiveness of the public employment services (ESC) and expanded active labor market policy (ALMPs) targeted to vulnerable jobseekers implemented by the ESCs in partnership with the private sector. It consists of following sub-components: (i) enhance the capacity of employment support centers to implement job intermediation services; (ii) financial support to promote employment; (iii) entrepreneurship skills training; and (iv) develop and implement an integrated labor market information system (LMIS). The third component, project monitoring and management objective is to support the government in monitoring labor market interventions and managing the overall International Development Association (IDA) project. It consists of following sub-components: (i) strengthening labor market interventions monitoring and evaluation; and (ii) project management.