On the second Sunday of October, Kazakhstan celebrates the Day of persons with disabilities (hereinafter referred to as PWD). There are over 719,000 people with special needs residing in the Republic. Providing social support and improving the quality of life for persons with disabilities is one of the main directions of the state policy and one of the top priorities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter referred to as MLSPP).
Out of the 719,300 PWD currently living in Kazakhstan, 422,500 are people of working age (58.7%), 189,900 are people of pensionable age (26.4%), and 106,900 are children under 18 years old (14.9%).
"The government consistently takes systemic measures to improve the quality of life for people with special needs and their social integration into society.
To protect the rights and legitimate interests of persons with disabilities in Kazakhstan, a multi-level system of social protection is in place, including state aid and support in the form of benefits and social payments; compensation for lost bodily functions within the framework of social rehabilitation; the provision of special social services.
PWD, taking into account indications and contraindications, are provided at the expense of the state budget with prosthetic and orthopedic care, surdo-typhlotechnical means, wheelchairs, sanatorium treatment, mandatory hygiene products, the services of an individual assistant and sign language specialists.
Work is systematically being carried out in all regions of Kazakhstan to create an accessible and barrier-free environment for persons with disabilities," noted the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the RK, Svetlana Zhakupova.
To address the issues faced by PWD and families raising children with disabilities, Coordination council on the social protection of persons with disabilities operates under the MLSPP. Its main task is to create a platform for dialogue between the government and the public, develop specific proposals and recommendations to improve the quality of life for people with special needs.
On June 7th of this year, the Head of State signed the Law on the Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (which entered into force on August 12th of this year). The adoption of the Optional Protocol recognizes the competence of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to consider individual complaints from Kazakhstani citizens.
Since July of this year, the Social Code of Kazakhstan has come into force, providing equal rights and opportunities for all citizens in the field of social protection. Any discrimination based on race, gender, language, religion, beliefs, place of residence, age, health status, including disability, or other circumstances is prohibited.
As part of the implementation of the Social Code, significant social support measures for PWD have been strengthened. For example, as of July 1st of this year:
- the amount of benefits paid to persons with disabilities, caregivers of PWD in the I group, mothers or fathers, adoptive parents (guardians), raising a child with a disability (children with disabilities), has been increased by 14.5%. The sizes of disability payments from the State Social Insurance Fund (hereinafter referred to as the SSIF) have also been raised by 14.5%. Taking into account the initial 8.5% increase in the sizes of benefits and social payments at the beginning of the year, their sizes have grown by 23% annually.
- persons with disabilities diagnosed with Spina bifida are provided with lubricated single-use catheters at a rate of 6 per day (2,190 per year);
- the number of diapers provided to PWDs has been increased from 2 to 4 per day (1,460 per year);
- children with mental disorders, with concomitant diseases, are provided with the opportunity for sanatorium and resort treatment;
- family members are involved in providing services to a person with a disability. Relatives of PWDs can be registered as individual assistants with corresponding remuneration and social contributions;
- standards for special social services (hereinafter referred to as SSS) will be revised, and from 2025, a per capita norm will be introduced in the form of separate norms for services and maximum prices for compensatory technical means.
The government regularly takes measures to improve the social support for PWDs.
As of October 1, 2023, the number of recipients of state social benefits (hereinafter referred to as SSB) for disability is 538,400 people. From January to September 2023, 298.5 billion tenge was allocated from the republican budget for the payment of SSB for disability. The sizes of SSB depend on the disability group and the cause of disability, as well as on the subsistence minimum set by the law "On the Republican Budget" for the respective financial year. As of October 1 of this year, the average size of SSB for disability was 68,464 tenge.
In addition, participants in the mandatory social insurance system receive additional disability social payments from the SSIF. The amounts of payments are individual and depend on: the average monthly income from which social contributions were made to the SSIF for the last 2 years, coefficients of workability loss, the length of participation in the mandatory social insurance system, and income replacement. As of the end of 9 months, more than 96,200 people received a disability payment on total sum of 28.2 billion tenge. As of October 1, the average amount of the social payment is 45,943 tenge.
For the convenience of citizens, the Social Services Portal (hereinafter referred to as SSP) was launched in 2020, allowing people with disabilities to independently choose the manufacturer and supplier of technical means (hereinafter referred to as STM) and rehabilitation services. The introduction of SSP has increased the implementation of individual rehabilitation programs for PWDs to 90.8% in 2022 and provided access to services and STM regardless of their place of residence.
At the same time, within the framework of the Social Code, the commissions on the Social Services Portal at local executive bodies are empowered to decide on the removal of a supplier from the SSP and inclusion in the list of unscrupulous suppliers in case they provide poor-quality services or goods.
To eliminate paperwork, contact between service providers and recipients, and to ensure transparency in the process of determining disability groups, a project is being implemented in a pilot mode for conducting medical and social expertise in a remote format. To receive the service of determining a disability group, the applicant only needs to contact a clinic at their place of residence and undergo the necessary examination; the rest of the processes are carried out without their participation through the integration of information systems. Currently, more than 740 medical organizations are connected to the project. As of October 1 of this year, 49,000 applications have been processed in a remote format from all regions of Kazakhstan.
In order to address emerging social problems and create opportunities for participation in society, special social services are provided to PWDs in a stationary, semi-stationary, and home care settings. Depending on the need, special social services are provided in 8 areas: social household, socio-medical, sociopsychological, sociopedagogical, social labor, socio-cultural, socio-economic, and socio-legal.
SSS for people with disabilities are provided by approximately 740 government organizations, including 118 state stationary medical and social institutions, 87 state day care centers, 34 state rehabilitation centers, and 505 departments of social assistance at home.
As an alternative to the existing network of stationary organizations, social services are provided in day care and home care settings, which are aimed at strengthening family values by keeping individuals within their families. As a result, over 800 children who were previously in stationary institutions have been returned to their families.
Today, the social order for the provision of SSS is also being implemented by 189 NGOs in all regions of the country (in 2009 - 4 NGOs).
As part of the modernization of the system for providing special social services, working groups have been established to address issues such as improving SSS standards and tariff formation, demonopolizing and deinstitutionalizing the system of special social services, and the status of social workers.
The construction has begun on new large rehabilitation centers (hereinafter referred to as RC) with a capacity of 150 places in 12 regions of the country (Akmola, Aktobe, Atyrau, Abai, Zhetysu, Zhambyl, West Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, Turkestan regions, cities of Almaty, Astana, Shymkent). RC in the city of Semey in the Abai region has already been put into operation. The completion of the construction in the city of Kentau in the Turkestan region and the city of Taraz in the Zhambyl region is expected by the end of this year.
Furthermore, with the support of the Public Fund "Kazakhstan Khalkyna" , work is underway to open day care centers for children with autism spectrum disorder and other mental disorders in 8 regions of the country (Aktobe, Zhetysu, Zhambyl, East Kazakhstan, Kostanay, Pavlodar regions, cities of Almaty, and Shymkent).
As part of the transformation of the social service system outlined in the Social Code, there is a plan for a gradual demonopolization of state medical and social institutions by involving the private sector through per capita financing. Small capacity homes (hereinafter referred to as SCH) will be created directly in the places of residence of PWDs, including the rural areas.
Starting from July 1st of this year, the implementation of new approaches began in the form of a pilot project for the provision of special social services in small capacity homes for children in 7 regions of the country (Akmola, West Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Turkestan regions, and cities of Astana, Almaty, Shymkent).
Currently, SCHs are successfully operating in the cities of Karaganda, Kokshetau, Turkestan, Shymkent, and Astana. Approximately 100 children with disabilities receive services in these facilities.
Source: website of MLSPP of the RK https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/enbek/press/news/details/631805?lang=ru
