Kazakhstan implements National Plan for Ensuring Rights and Improving Quality of Life of Persons with Disabilities until 2025 — Birzhan Nurymbetov

At the government session chaired by the Prime Minister Askar Mamin, the issue of social protection of persons with disabilities was discussed. Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population Birzhan Nurymbetov reported on the work carried out in this direction.

“Ensuring the rights and social protection of persons with disabilities is one of the most important tasks in the activities of the government,” Nurymbetov noted.

Today, according to the minister, more than 705 thousand people with disabilities live in Kazakhstan, of which 430 thousand are of working age, 181 thousand are of retirement age and 94 thousand are children.

In general, 448 billion tenge has been allocated for social payments, provision of technical means of rehabilitation and services this year, which is 12% more than last year.

The country is implementing the National Plan to Ensure the Rights and Improve the Quality of Life of Persons with Disabilities until 2025.

The national plan consists of 64 measures covering 7 areas, these are issues of disability prevention, access to education, barrier-free environment, employment, effective rehabilitation, social services and modernization of public consciousness.

“Taking into account the opinion of people with disabilities and society, in accordance with the principles of the ‘hearing state,’ this year we have expanded the list of irreversible anatomical defects in which disability is established indefinitely,” Nurymbetov noted.

For persons with an unfavorable rehabilitation prognosis, the terms have been extended to 5 years, and the indications for which a child is recognized as disabled for 5 years or until he reaches 16 years have been expanded.

This year, for the first time in the country, a project was launched to produce domestic electric wheelchairs.

1,381 wheelchairs with the first domestic electric drive were produced by the state order of JSC Tynys, of which 817 were delivered to the regions.

For people with disabilities, on the basis of services such as Amazon and Alibaba, this year aleumet.egov.kz has launched a social services portal.

This digital project has access to the following opportunities:

  • the right to independently choose the means and services of rehabilitation;
  • reduction of the term for their receipt from 6 months to 15 days;
  • transparency of business processes, elimination of intermediary services;
  • unification of prices, efficient use of budget funds;
  • equal access for providers of technical means and rehabilitation services.

To date, 1,157 suppliers of technical means and rehabilitation services are registered on the portal, more than 24 thousand technical means of rehabilitation have been issued.

A full transition to the portal will be carried out from January 2021 for all 55 types of technical means of rehabilitation, covering about 400 thousand recipients.

The next digital project is the distance identification of disability and the provision of social services in a proactive format.

Today the applicant has to apply to several different instances. After the full automation of services in 2021, the applicant will only apply to the clinic for examination. The rest of the stages of the provision of services will be carried out in a proactive format, in a comprehensive electronic form, including the identification of disability, the appointment of benefits.

“The implementation of this process will allow to exclude contact of people with disabilities with the service provider, significantly reduce the time for rendering services,” the minister said.

For the full implementation of this project, it is important by the end of the year to complete the preparation of the information systems of the Ministry of Health for integration with the systems of our and other state bodies.

“One of the priority tasks is economic independence and high-quality employment of persons with disabilities,” Nurymbetov noted further.

According to the minister, of the total number of people with disabilities of working age, 100 thousand people, or 23.3%, are currently employed.

By 2025, it is planned to increase this figure to 30%.

The Enbek program is being actively implemented. This year, 13 thousand people with disabilities were employed, 626 people were trained in the basics of entrepreneurship, 830 gratuitous grants and 350 microcredits were issued.

The Atlas of Occupations for Persons with Disabilities is being finalized.

Training is provided for persons with disabilities in specialties in demand, including IT skills.

Together with the Damu Fund, measures have been launched to support 76 business projects implemented under the Scale-up program with the participation of persons with disabilities.

Together with local and central government bodies, work is being carried out to attract persons with disabilities to the number of civil servants. As of Nov. 1, 2020, their number reached 701 people, of whom 391 people took online courses from the Academy of Public Administration.

Also in 2021, all regions plan to open centers for social support and employment Ten Qogam within the framework of the state social order.

Such centers have already been opened in Nur-Sultan and Almaty.

Nurymbetov noted that in the regions it remains relevant to work with enterprises to fulfill the established quotas in terms of employment of persons with disabilities and asked akims to pay special attention to this issue. To date, 36% of enterprises have ensured compliance with legal requirements.

“The issues of rehabilitation of people with disabilities are very important. Currently, there are 40 stationary rehabilitation centers in the country. Of these, 12 new rehabilitation centers have been introduced this year through the state social order and public-private partnership,” the minister said.

The coverage of needy rehabilitation centers has been brought to 47%.

Today, the issue of creating additional rehabilitation centers is relevant. There are no stationary rehabilitation centers in 5 regions, and the need for rehabilitation services in 3 regions exceeds their capacity.

In this regard, it is planned to build new inpatient rehabilitation centers with 150 beds in these 8 regions, including a public-private partnership approach.

“So, by 2025, the need for rehabilitation centers will be provided for 100%,” Nurymbetov noted.

The ministry also, according to the minister, is pursuing a consistent policy to modernize social services.

Today the number of medical and social institutions has reached 931 and covers 122 thousand people.

“Today we are developing a national plan for the modernization of the social service system and the concept of transition of the social service system to per capita financing,” said Nurymbetov.

Additional measures are being taken to improve the quality of services provided in medical and social institutions.

In social work, social workers play the main role.

With the support of UNICEF and the Elbasy Foundation, testing and training of 12 thousand social workers has begun.

The government is considering the issue of a gradual increase in the wages of social workers.

Also, the new social security code will separately define norms aimed at increasing the status of a social worker.

Within the framework of the national plan, the ministry has developed a draft law on social protection of certain categories of citizens.

The bill provides for amendments to more than 80 normative legal acts and contains more than 10 conceptual additions, reflected in the election platform of the Nur Otan party, related to ensuring the rights and social support of persons with disabilities.

Including:

  • introduction of compensatory contributions of employers who do not fulfill the quota for the employment of persons with disabilities;
  • introduction of benefits for persons caring for disabled people of group 1;
  • distribution of children aged 7 to 16 by disability groups, revision of the amount of benefits;
  • granting the right to joint receipt of disability and survivor benefits;
  • for children over 18 years of age, when a disability of 1-2 groups is established, there are such important social norms as maintaining a line for housing.

"The bill has passed all the stages of approval and will soon be submitted to the parliament," Nurymbetov summed up.

In the North Kazakhstan region, according to akim Kumar Aksakalov, today there are 26.5 thousand persons with disabilities, of which more than 2 thousand are children.

The region is taking the necessary measures to support this category.

Within the framework of the barrier-free environment, 1,741 objects have already been adapted and included in the Interactive Accessibility Map. This is 100%.

“We are actively developing social entrepreneurship. Four became participants of the republican project 'scale-up," said the akim.

3.6 thousand persons with disabilities are involved in labor activity, including 600 under the state program Enbek.

Within the framework of quotas, jobs were organized at 265 enterprises. More than 1,600 people receive services in 6 medical and social institutions and a rehabilitation center for the disabled. The opening of the TenQogam social service center is planned.

According to Aksakalov, by the end of the year, 80% of those in need will be provided with rehabilitation facilities and services.

Particular attention is paid to the development of inclusive education. All conditions have been created in 334 schools, this is 71%. There are 26 special educational organizations and 12 inclusion classes covering more than 1,300 children in all districts of the region.

For the prevention of early disability, screening examinations are organized, examinations on a computed tomography have been increased by 8 times.

“In general, the work to support persons with disabilities is under control and will continue,” the akim emphasized.

Stay updated about the events of the Prime Minister and the Government of Kazakhstan - subscribe to the official Telegram channel

Subscribe