UNDP in the frame of the UN Joint Programme on Social Protection in Uzbekistan delivered a capacity building training “Disability data collection, analysis and use”.

The training organized together with the State Statistics Committee, Association of PwDs of Uzbekistan engaged 42 specialists of the State Statistics Committee, Medical and Labor Expert Commissions (MLEC), Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Employment and the Agency for the Development of Medical and Social Services.

The prevalence rates on disabilities has significant alteration from country to country due to different reasons that include among other things poor methods and methodology of data collection, different thresholds to disability, poor data management and analysis, etc.

In his welcoming speech the Chair of the Association of Disabled People of Uzbekistan, Mr. Oybek Isakov said: “In our country the statistical data of persons with disabilities is collected focusing on 5 parameters (number, region of residence, gender, age and disability group). Following the signature of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Uzbekistan, as a party to the Convention, has to comply with its requirements. The article 29 of the CRPD sets out an obligation to maintain comprehensive statistics, covering all spheres of life of persons with disabilities. During today’s training we will discuss these aspects with you.”

The training course covered topics ranging from models of disability, disability data structure, collection and use, to Convention implementation issues. Accurate and reliable disability statistics are vital for designing appropriate policies, programmes and budgets, and effectively targeting obstacles and roadblocks to integration of persons with disabilities in the society. For example, environment accessibility data is crucial for identifying barriers on different levels that need to be removed.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 31 lays down an obligation on States-Parties “to collect appropriate information, including statistical and research data, to enable them to formulate and implement policies” to ensure the implementation of the Convention’s provisions. The training will contribute to the efforts of the responsible ministries and agencies to improve policies and procedures to collect, analyze and use reliable statistics and to be able better monitor the situation of people with disabilities in the country.

UNDP actively supports Uzbekistan in its efforts geared towards implementation of the CRPD that the country ratified on Julne 7, 2021. UNDP together with OSCE and UN sister-agencies contributed to the preparation of the draft National Plan of Action on implementation of the CRPD.