Uzbekistan Expands Automatic Pregnancy Benefits

In the first nine months of 2023, 24.6 billion soums in pregnancy and childbirth benefits were paid to 12,000 women employed in the private sector. Starting from September 1, 2022, the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan began covering these benefits automatically, eliminating the need for citizens to apply.

To be eligible, a pregnant woman in the private sector must have six months of continuous work experience and receive income in the form of labor payment. The benefit is calculated at four times the minimum consumption expenditure, which is currently 2.3 million soums.

The process is streamlined through the "Unified Register of Social Protection" information system. When a pregnant woman's incapacity for work is recorded in the "Medicine" information system of the Ministry of Health, the "Unified Register of Social Protection" system automatically assesses her length of service using the "Unified National Labor System" and checks her income through the Tax Committee's database.

If the criteria are met, allowances are paid from the State Social Insurance Fund of the Ministry of Economy and Finance through AL "Khalk Bank." The state budget has allocated 300 billion soums for pregnancy and childbirth benefits in 2023, aiming to support 130,000 women working in the private sector.

By the end of 2023, it is expected that over 40 billion soums will have been disbursed to more than 19,000 eligible women based on the trends observed in the first nine months. Considering the actual costs of 2023, the 2024 budget project plans to allocate 100 billion soums for pregnancy and childbirth benefits to support more than 40,000 women working in the private sector, doubling the allocation compared to 2023.