Ramilya Delmuhametova
Turkmenistan’s government prioritizes care and attention for the elderly, the sick, the disabled, large and low-income families, orphans, and people who have lost breadwinners. It is evidenced by the adopted Law of Turkmenistan “On Social Services”, which came into force on 1 January 2022.
This Law, consisting of 6 chapters and 25 articles, specifies provisions such as state regulation and control in the field of social services, state guarantees in the field of social services, specifics of the provision of social services in order to improve the living conditions of disabled people and expand their ability to independently meet their individual needs.
The competent authorities systematically carry out work to identify persons in need of social services, and keep records of them. The population is informed about the types of social services.
Who is eligible for social services?
Social services are provided at home by employees of social service institutions to the following categories of persons:
- Persons in need of permanent or temporary social services
- Single persons and persons who have partially lost the ability to self-care due to old age, illness, disability.
Social services can also be provided on a semi-permanent basis at a specific time of day.
Stationary social services are provided in a social service institution with permanent, temporary, or five-day, round-the-clock lodging.
The grounds for recognizing a person in need of social services are disability, old age, the consequences of an occupational injury and occupational disease, loss of a breadwinner, loneliness, orphanhood, homelessness and neglect, lack of a certain place of residence, forced change of the country of permanent residence, family trouble.
The Law “On Social Services” also applies to foreign citizens and stateless persons permanently residing in the territory of Turkmenistan, refugees, as well as legal entities regardless of the form of ownership and individual entrepreneurs engaged in activities in the field of social services.
How are social servants funded?
In the field of social services, there are a variety of funding options, including:
- centralized budget of Turkmenistan,
- local budgets,
- funds received from enterprises, organizations, institutions and individual entrepreneurs in the form of sponsorship,
- funds raised in the form of charitable and humanitarian aid.
What kinds of social services are available in Turkmenistan?
Users of social services, taking into account their individual needs, are provided with:
- Household social services aimed at keeping users’ lives in order on a daily basis;
- Medical social services, aimed at maintaining and preserving the health of users of social services, through the organization of care, assistance in carrying out recreational activities, systematic monitoring of health conditions;
- Psychological services
- Pedagogical services, aimed at preventing deviations in the behavior and personality development of users of social services, helping families raise children;
- Labor services, aimed at helping in jib search;
- Legal services, aimed at providing legal assistance, including free of charge, in protecting the rights and legitimate interests of users of social services.
In Turkmenistan, priority attention is paid to the issues of social protection of people with disabilities. Recall that in accordance with the Decree of the President of Turkmenistan of 2017, multi-apartment residential buildings with a convenient layout, high ceilings, equipped with ramps, handrails and wide doorways were built in Ashgabat and in all provincial centers for the disabled and those in special need of social protection.
About the author: Ramilya Delmuhametova – Rima – is a retired lawyer with over 40 years of experience in administration and civil law.
/// nCa, 24 February 2022