I have listened attentively to today’s Address by the Head of State and once again witnessed that they openly raised sensitive issues, including the issue of poverty, on the agenda. Emphasis was placed on the need for comprehensive and non-standard approaches to poverty reduction.
Poverty has been one of the most painful problems in Uzbekistan, which was previously concealed at the official level, but today this fact is openly acknowledged.
Touching on the issue of poverty alleviation, the President stressed that it cannot be solved through loans, social benefits or housing payments. To solve this problem, we need to address complex issues in education, healthcare, drinking water, energy and road infrastructure.
When it comes to the question about the need for "Temir Daftar", whose main goal is to correctly identify the segment of the population in need and on this basis to organize addressed work.
President stressed that the Unified Social Register will be launched across the country. This electronic system will make it possible to effectively link citizens to the social benefits and services to which they are entitled.
After successful pilot project in the Syrdarya region, the system will be implemented throughout Uzbekistan, paying attention to the fact that no one is left without attention.
As a result, the emphasis placed on the support of specific group of people - large families, children whose parents found themselves in a difficult situation - clearly showed that the state puts human interests first.
The more vulnerable a person is, the stronger and more effective the support measures aimed at him or her. I’m sure this logic worked during the coronavirus pandemic. Priorities were set long before the virus entered Uzbekistan.
At this point, it is appropriate to note about the "Theory of Justice" by world-class scientist John Rawls, that addressed the problem of distributive justice.
Rawls believes that "justice is the first virtue of public institutions." At the same time, he puts the main emphasis on social justice, considering "justice as fairness", that is, implying that people should evaluate issues of justice in relation to other people, just as they evaluate them in relation to themselves.
It can be stated that the reforms over the last four years show that Uzbekistan has chosen a model of state policy that corresponds to the concept of fair justice.
As another well-known scholar, Alfred Marshall, pointed out, the main and highest goal of economic research is to help the poor.
Obid Hakimov,
Director of the Center for Economic Research and Reform.
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