The first meeting of the Steering Committee on the joint program "Improving the social protection system through the introduction of inclusive quality social services at the community level", convened by the government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations, was held in Ashgabat, the UN press service reports.

The steering Committee includes representatives of line ministries, the Mejlis of Turkmenistan and the UN Agency. The meeting was co-chaired by the Minister of labor and social protection and the UN Permanent coordinator. The terms of Reference for the Steering Committee and the Working group on the implementation of the joint program were reviewed and approved, as well as the work Plan was reviewed and further actions were agreed, one of which is the recruitment of 45 social workers.

The UN resident coordinator Elena Panova: 

- Improving social services has been a key priority area of cooperation between the UN and the government over the past few years. This is the first joint UN effort that offers a holistic approach to transforming the social service delivery model.

The joint program includes 3 components:

1. Development of an inclusive community-based social service model with prototyping of its key elements; 
2. Creating institutional mechanisms and strengthening the legislative and regulatory framework to facilitate the introduction of a new system for providing social services at the community level; 
3. Strengthening the country's capacity for social work and social services.