Headquarters for combating poverty and unemployment to be established in Uzbekistan's regions

Headquarters for Combating Poverty and Unemployment to Be Established in Uzbekistan's Regions

Uzbekistan is changing its approach to combating poverty. Special headquarters will be established in the regions, and khokims (governors/mayors) will have to dedicate nearly half of their workweek to this effort.

The new system was presented at a meeting on poverty reduction and increasing population income levels, chaired by Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Headquarters led by khokims will be established in every region and district of the country. Heads of regions, districts, and cities, along with the entire economic sector, will spend three days a week focusing solely on poverty and employment issues. Banks and employment promotion services will be required to assist the headquarters in resolving issues on the ground.

Separately, the President criticized the work of mahalla bankers and assistants to the khokims. It was emphasized that many of them still begin reviewing projects by asking about collateral and have a poor understanding of instruments such as leasing, factoring, guarantees, and insurance.

The authorities also acknowledged that bureaucracy persists in loan issuance, and repayment schedules often fail to account for the specifics of a particular business. It was decided to transfer the management of preferential loans under family and youth entrepreneurship programs to the district headquarters.

The meeting also announced the results of a study on low-income families in Khorezm. These families are home to 48,000 children, yet there is currently no special program for their early vocational training. More than 10,000 women from such families are engaged in childcare, while the enrollment of their children in preschool education is below 75%. Responsible officials were instructed to organize additional extracurricular activities for children from needy families and to expand vocational training opportunities.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev ordered a review of the vocational training system in the Khorezm region and directed that specialist training be linked to the real needs of the labor market. Since the beginning of the year, 29,000 people have been employed there.