DUSHANBE, February 4, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Today the European Union launched the Technical Assistance to ''''Sector Policy Support Program in The Social Protection Sector”, with a value of €5 million, according to the Delegation of the European Commission to Tajikistan.

This is part of a broader program which is aimed at improving the design, management delivery and effectiveness of national policies in the Social Protection Sector in line with the National Development Strategy and Poverty Reduction Strategy.  The expected results are a modernized social protection system that sustains the socio-economic development of the country.

Whereas the main counterpart of the Program is the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population (MLSPP), the Program will also work closely with the Presidential Administration, the Ministries of Finance, Economy, Health and Education, Non-Governmental Organizations, the State Statistics Committee, providers of social services, social partners, and international donors.

The Technical Assistance Program has three components:

- Labor Policy Component – aims to support conducting comprehensive analysis of the current situation in the area of labor market and labor migration, in order to develop a labor market strategy and its implementation and financial plan;

- Social Benefits Component – aims to help improve the effectiveness of the social benefits and privileges system in the Republic of Tajikistan;

- Service Delivery Component – aims to support the development of standards, methodologies and practices of social care for people with disabilities and other vulnerable categories of population in residential institutions and day care centers and the  improvement of coordination and quality monitoring of these services.

The Program will be completed during the years 2010-2012. The results of the Program will support the Government of Tajikistan to fulfill the conditions set in the Policy Reform Matrix to secure the receipt of EU financial support to the State budget.