There are about 90 non-governmental and non-profit organisations (NGOs) operating in Uzbekistan, that contribute to social support, adaptation and protection of the rights of people with disabilities. However, the corona-virus pandemic revealed that these NGOs are experiencing tangible lack of financial resources and technical support than before to implement their social projects and initiatives.
Considering this, the Joint Programme announced a call for Disabled People Organisations proposaIs. The call aimed at increasing the access of people with disabilities to social protection and ensuring their inclusion in various aspects of public life, as well as introducing innovative approaches in the provision of comprehensive social protection for people with disabilities, especially women and young people in the context of COVID-19.
In this regard, from 14 August to 15 September, as part of the implementation of Component 3 of the Joint Program on Social Protection, a micro-grants contest was launched to support user-led pilot social initiatives in line with ICF for organisations of people with disabilities and civil society initiatives.
In the framework of the application process, 37 proposals representing various ideas for promoting interests of people with disabilities were received. Each proposal was evaluated against the contest assessment criteria by the contest selection committee consisted of representatives of UNDP, UNICEF and ILO. The committee awarded 11 social projects for totaI grant amount of 54,000 USD.
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