-Almas Mukhametkarimovich, the population of Kazakhstan is growing from year to year, as well as because of the birth of new citizens. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, 450.7 thousand children were born in 2021. This is 5.6% more than in 2020 (426.8 thousand children). How is social support provided by the state to soon-to-be mothers?

- In Kazakhstan, social protection of motherhood and childhood is provided comprehensively at the expense of the state budget and the State Social Insurance Fund (SSIF). 

In February 2012, the Republic of Kazakhstan ratified the International Labor Organization Convention No. 183 “On Maternity Protection”. 

In order to protect the interests of working women, in 2008, compulsory social insurance for motherhood and childhood had been introduced.

The right to receiving social benefits in the event of loss of income due to pregnancy and childbirth, adoption of a newborn child (children) arises from the date of leave granted on the basis of a temporary disability certificate. The number of days of disability is determined in accordance with Article 99 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The amount of social benefits for pregnancy and childbirth depends on the income from which social contributions were received to the State Social Insurance Fund for the last year of the woman’s work and the number of days for which a medical certificate was issued for pregnancy and childbirth.

Between 2008-2021, almost 2.2 million expecting mothers were paid 760 billion tenge from the State Social Insurance Fund, of which 123.6 billion tenge in 2021.

-And what payments does the family receive after the birth of a child?

- After the birth of a child, the father or mother of the child is paid one-time allowance for the birth of a child at the expense of the state budget, regardless of the implementation of labor activity. The amount of this payment in 2022 for the first, second, third child is 38 monthly calculation index (MCI) or 116,394 tenge, for the fourth or more child - 63 MCI or 192,969 tenge. 

If the mother of the child did not work, then she is assigned an allowance for caring for a child up to 1 year from the budget. The amount of the monthly allowance depends on the order of birth of the child and in 2022 it is:

for the first child– 5,76 MCI, or 17 643 tenge;

for the second child – 6,81 MCI, or 20 860 tenge;

for the third child – 7,85 MCI, or 24 045 tenge;

for the fourth or more children – 8,9 MCI, or 27 261 tenge. 

If the mother of the child worked and the State Social Insurance Fund received social contributions from her employer, then after the child birth she will receive a monthly social payment in case of loss of income in connection with caring for a child under 1-year-old from the State Social Insurance Fund.

The main conditions for receiving this payment are the loss of income and the actual care of a child under 1-year-old. The amount of the payment is 40% of the average monthly income of a woman for the last 2 years before the date of birth of the child. At the same time, the minimum amount cannot be less than the size of a similar monthly state allowance for caring for a child upon reaching the age of 1 year, and the maximum amount cannot be more than 40% of the sevenfold minimum wage established by the law on the republican budget for the corresponding financial year, i.e. 168,000 tenge (7*60,000 tenge * 40%) in 2022.

Between 2008-2021, about 3.1 million people received the indicated social benefit from the State Social Insurance Fund for a total amount of 866 billion tenge, of which in 2021 - 154.5 billion tenge.

- What innovations have been introduced to make it convenient for expecting mothers or new mothers to receive the due payments?

- With the development of information systems of state bodies and organizations, in particular the digitalization of the social and labor sphere, proactive services are being introduced in order to facilitate and simplify the procedure for the provision of public services. These are services that citizens receive without leaving their homes. As a result of the exchange of data between the information systems of state bodies and organizations, the citizen's right to receive benefits and social payments from the State Social Insurance Fund is updated. The principle works in this direction: "a citizen should not apply for public services, and the state should be the initiator of the provision of public services." 

So, after the birth of a child, the individual receives a text message on mobile phone regarding the processing of payments, to which a response-consent within three calendar days needs to be provided.

 Also, one can apply for benefits on the e-government portal egov.kz after receiving a child's birth certificate.

Through mobile applications of second-tier banks (Kaspi Bank and Halyk Bank), there is a service that has been launched for applying for childbirth allowances and social payments for caring for a child under 1-year-old. Convenience in obtaining public services in this way lies in the absence of the need to use separate EDS keys and enter additional information.

As for the submission of documents in paper form, now one can contact any branch of the State Enterprise "Government for Citizens" without reference to the place of residence, that is, the actual location of the expecting mother or a new mother. 

In Kazakhstan, state support for the family, motherhood and childhood is one of the main priorities of social security. 

Taking this opportunity, I want to congratulate all women on the wonderful spring holiday - International Women's Day and wish everyone good health, peaceful sky and prosperity.