Uzbekistan explores care provision through cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy
Tashkent, Uzbekistan – The International Labour Organization (ILO) convened a technical workshop in Tashkent in collaboration with the National Agency for Social Protection to discuss the preliminary findings of the National assessment on provision of care services through cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy (SSE) entities in Uzbekistan.
The workshop brought together representatives of the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction, the National Agency for Social Protection, and employers’ and workers’ organizations to examine opportunities for strengthening the care economy through community-based and SSE approaches, including care cooperatives.
Opening the technical discussions, Ms Simel Esim, Head of the ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit, and Rayann Koudaih, ILO Technical Specialist on Cooperative and SSE Development, presented ILO’s global agenda on decent work in the care economy and the role of cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy entities in expanding access to quality care services.
The presentations highlighted growing global care needs, persistent gender inequalities in unpaid and paid care work, and the potential of care cooperatives to create decent jobs, formalize employment, particularly for women, and provide community-driven, quality care solutions. International experiences from countries including Colombia and the State of Palestine demonstrated how multistakeholder partnerships, government support, trade union engagement and community-led approaches can strengthen inclusive and sustainable care systems.
The national assessment, conducted by PRAXIS Plus under the UN Global Accelerator joint programme on “Accelerating decent jobs and social protection for a just transition to formality in Uzbekistan”, highlighted the increasing demand for care services in Uzbekistan amid demographic change, population ageing and rising needs for childcare, eldercare and disability support. The presentation emphasized that women continue to carry the overwhelming majority of unpaid care responsibilities, limiting their labour market participation and economic opportunities.
The research team presented findings from fieldwork conducted through key informant interviews and focus group discussions with government representatives, care providers, organizations of persons with disabilities, civil society organizations and families of children with disabilities. The preliminary findings identified important policy reforms in social protection and community-based care, including the establishment of the National Agency for Social Protection and the introduction of pilot day-care services for children with disabilities. At the same time, the assessment pointed to major challenges affecting the development of care cooperatives and SSE entities, including legal and regulatory gaps, limited infrastructure, insufficient training and care standards, fragmented self-employment arrangements, and the absence of a dedicated legal framework for social enterprises and SSE entities.
The assessment is very relevant to ongoing national reform efforts under Uzbekistan’s Global Accelerator Road Map on Job Creation and Social Protection, which includes measures related to formalizing care work, expanding childcare services at the makhalla (a neighbourhood community with self-governance) level, strengthening qualifications and standards for care workers, and enhancing the role of non-governmental actors in delivering social services.
Participants also discussed emerging public-private partnership models for care provision, opportunities to formalize informal care work through SSE approaches, and the need for sustainable financing, training programmes and institutional support for care workers and recipients.
Feedback gathered during the workshop will contribute to the finalization of the national assessment as well as national policy recommendations and inform future pilot initiatives aimed at strengthening the care economy, promoting decent work and advancing gender equality in Uzbekistan. As a follow up action, the ILO will organise a Training of Trainers Programme on selected ILO care cooperative development tools, including Think.CareCOOP and Start.CareCOOP in Uzbekistan.
The event forms part of the ILO’s broader efforts to promote decent work in the care economy and support inclusive social protection reforms through gender-responsive and community-based approaches. The technical workshop was organised as part of the UN Global Accelerator joint programme “Accelerating decent jobs and social protection for a just transition to formality in Uzbekistan”.
This article first appeared on the ILO website.