Representatives of relevant ministries, UN agencies, the European Union Delegation in Uzbekistan and other stakeholders came together to review the results of the activities of the UN Joint Programme on “Establishment of an Integrated National Financing Framework for Sustainable Development in Uzbekistan” in 2021 and discuss plans for this year.

The main goal of the UN Joint Programme is to help the Government of Uzbekistan strengthen the overall financing framework for its national development strategies and public finance management. It aims to facilitate the establishment of an Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) with financial solutions to maximize the development impact of social (with specific focus on social assistance and health sectors) and environmental policies/reforms.

As a part of this work “SDG Financing Strategy will be developed and is expected to help the Government in implementing its “New Uzbekistan” development agenda by providing a strong financial framework,” noted Ms. Matilda Dimovska, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan in her welcoming speech. “While the Strategy will propose ways of using the existing resources more efficiently, it will also help mobilize additional domestic and international funds,” she added.

In 2021, we started working on Integrated Financing Strategy for SDGs. As of today, a series of consultations have been conducted with major national partners and international financial institutions that are engaged in development projects. Outcomes of these discussions will be reflected on the first draft of the Integrated Financing Strategy.

In his opening speech, Mr. Akhadbek Khaydarov, Deputy Minister of Finance, stressed on the importance and timeliness of the Integrated SDG Financing Strategy to be developed at the stage of adoption by the Government of a new Development Strategy of Uzbekistan for the next 5 years. “The Financing Strategy will help to provide a comprehensive assessment of the resources needed to meet the national priorities, and to determine additional resources to be attracted,” he added.

Furthermore, the programme supports the Government of Uzbekistan in developing and piloting the new innovative financing instruments and mechanisms. With UNDP support a National SDG Bond Framework was formulated, and the Government of Uzbekistan issued its first SDG bonds in July 2021, while being first in the Central Asia.

In his presentation, Mr. Christopher Fitzpatrick, WHO Advisor, noted that the work of WHO in Uzbekistan on implementation of the principally new financing mechanisms in functioning of primary health facilities enabled Ministry of Health to introduce the first State-Guaranteed Benefit Package, focused on primary health care services. A mixed payment model was piloted, based on international standards.

As part of the 2021 activities of the JP, UNODC conducted a comprehensive analysis and prepared a set of recommendations for further improvement of the national system of controlling illicit financial flows and effective management of frozen, seized and confiscated assets.

UNICEF and the Ministry of Finance started discussing best practices to support evidence-based, child-sensitive budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of relevant sectoral social protection strategies, education, and healthcare.

A detailed plan of activities for 2022 was also presented at the meeting. The SDG Financing Strategy is expected to be completed this year. At the same time, the Joint Programme will continue to support the government in ensuring that SDG Bonds impact measurement and reporting are done in line with globally accepted standards and practices.

Development and implementation of information systems needed for the full roll-out of a new health financing model will be one of the main priorities of the health sector.

The JP will continue to manage stolen/confiscated assets work to put in place a functioning well-coordinated asset management system. In the area of social protection, the JP will focus on building capacity of the civil servants on how to plan, execute and monitor child-sensitive social expenditures; instruments/tools, to be used for analysis for evidence-based budgetary enquiries.

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This initiative is realized within the framework of the UN Joint Programme “Establishment of Integrated National Financing Framework in Uzbekistan (INFF)”, led by UNDP alongside the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The Joint Programme is funded by the Joint SDG Fund with contributions from the European Union and governments of: Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.