Press Release

The working group discusses the implementation of the legislative component of the Joint Programme on social services

24 December 2020

The Working Group implementing the legislative aspect of the Joint Programme on community-based social services held meetings to discuss progress and further steps in enforcing of the legislative and regulatory framework and establishing institutional mechanisms to facilitate the introduction of the new community-based social services delivery system.

The meetings were organized by the UNFPA within the framework of the Joint Programme on community-based social services, which is implemented by the Government of Turkmenistan and participating UN agencies.

Opened with the welcome speech of Ms. Ayna Seyitliyeva, UNFPA Head of office in Turkmenistan, the meetings brought together experts from a number of ministries, including Mejlis of Turkmenistan, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population of Turkmenistan, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Internal affairs, international experts and representatives of the participating UN agencies in the Joint Programme.

During the first meeting, an international consultant presented the main results of the comprehensive review of the Turkmenistan’s legislation in the sphere of social services, which was followed up with a discussion session. In the second meeting, recommendations related to supporting the legislative base of social service provision system of the country and their implementation were discussed. Participants were also informed about an ongoing project on drafting proposals for the national legislation on social services.

The Joint Programme on “Improving the system of social protection through the introduction of inclusive quality community-based social services”, funded by the Joint SDG Fund, is being implemented by the partnering UN agencies, namely, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNODC and Government of Turkmenistan. The Joint Programme is aimed at introducing a new model of social services at the community level accompanied by relative legislative reviews and capacity building of national social service workforce. The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population of Turkmenistan is a leading national partner. Other key national partners include the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, and Ministry of Finance and Economy.

Implementation period: 2020-2022.