Uzbekistan
Country Programmes

Transformation of Social Service Delivery: Implementing Human Rights–Based Approach for Children, Youth and Women with Disabilities in Uzbekistan

Start DateOngoingEnd Date
 
 
27 Feb 202131 Jan 2026
Programme Status
Open
Programme Budget
US$ 1,100,000
Financial Information
Thematic focus: CRPD monitoring (art 33), Deinstitutionalization, Disability Policy and/or Law, Early Childhood Development, GBV & Sexual and Reproductive Health, Inclusive SDGs Planning and Monitoring, National development planning and monitoring, OPDs capacity building, Social Protection, Statistics and Data Collection

Implementing Partners

UN Agencies

  • UNICEF
  • UNFPA
  • UNDP

Government Organizations

  • The Agency for Development of Medical and Social Services under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan
  • Interagency Council on the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities

Organizations of Persons with Disabilities

  • The Association of Disabled People of Uzbekistan
  • Public Association of Disabled People of Tashkent city NGO “SHAROIT PLUS”
  • National University of Uzbekistan
  • Deputy Chairperson at the Association of Disabled People of Uzbekistan on Strategic Planning
  • Author of the Blog of the Society of the Deaf of Uzbekistan
  • Founder of the educational center focused on early development educational programs for children with intellectual disabilities
  • Founder and Director of the network of inclusive child development centers “Umnichka”

The Programme

Today, the national efforts to realize the rights of persons with disabilities are characterized by uncoordinated sporadic interventions, unsupported by a joint commitment to a systematic change from all relevant stakeholders.  The systematic realization of the CRPD rights is made difficult by the weak legislative and policy framework, lack of earmarked budgets, low capacity of the civil society and missed opportunities to mainstream disability rights in all policies and programmes. Furthermore, lack of sufficient inclusive and high-quality services in the community for all populations of persons with disabilities has been described as the key reason for institutionalization, poverty, violence and ill-health.

Phase 2
The second phase of the programme in Uzbekistan has a specific focus on further upskilling the health and social service workforce to enhance access to services and promoting the strengthened regulatory health and social service framework that was achieved in the first phase. Programme partners are providing targeted training for the health and social service workforce and costing health, including rehabilitation, services to help further accelerate deinstitutionalization and increase service provision at local level, including through the ‘Inson’ centres established under the first phase.

Approach

Therefore, the programme will consolidate the multi-stakeholder commitment to the achievement of CRPD-compliant SDGs through a robust legislative and policy framework, sound coordination structures and meaningful participation of organizations of persons with disabilities. It will address the essential building blocks to the CRPD implementation that are legislative reform, strengthening the representativity and capacity of OPDs, and availability of inclusive services (UNPRPD Outcome 1). The programme specifically focuses on accessible person-centered and age-appropriate services in the community, aimed at supporting the autonomy and inclusion of children, women and men with disabilities and prevention of institutionalization, violence and abuse. Development of early identification and early intervention services for children with disabilities will be one of the focus areas of the programme, as will the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities in programmes addressing gender-based violence ​​​​​​​
The programme also intends to strengthen disability mainstreaming within the implementing country-level UN agencies’ activities to ensure that national development assessments, plans, budgets, programs and monitoring mechanisms supported under the SDG processes advance disability-inclusive development in Uzbekistan.
The programme will be implemented in a participatory and inclusive manner with full involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities, and experts with disabilities, with a specific emphasis on women, persons with disabilities from underrepresented groups and persons with disabilities in rural and remote areas.

Programme Documents