Govts, global agencies unite to prioritise ‘Last-Mile’ delivery in social protection

Doha, Qatar: At the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD), a diverse coalition of governments and international organisations turned atten...

Doha, Qatar: At the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD), a diverse coalition of governments and international organisations turned attention to a key message that stated “In social protection, delivery systems are as critical as the policies themselves.”

Under the banner ‘Last-Mile First: Innovations and Human-Centred Approach in Social Service Delivery,’ representatives from Uzbekistan, Belgium, Morocco, Qatar, and Türkiye, together with Unicef, the World Bank, and UNDP, unveiled a range of practical innovations aimed at ensuring that essential services reach those who need them most including children, people with disabilities, and vulnerable families.

“The main idea of this side event is to discuss social services, which are one of the very important parts of the World Summit for Social Development, Deputy Director of the National Agency for Social Protection, Sharifkhodajaev Usman, told The Peninsula. “Social services are very important because, on one side, they help to care for the family, but at the same time, they help to make the family active economically.”

As one of the leading organisers, Uzbekistan is demonstrating how integrated social service systems can work in practice, emphasising the need for customised, community-focused approaches to effectively reach the last mile. Usman said, “These services were organised in Uzbekistan after establishing a new agency in 2023. Before that, we used to collect hundreds of services, which were in different ministries, into one agency.

“We try to provide these services directly in the mahallas community, finding our clients, our main group, exactly near their houses and in their neighbourhoods. This helps families, people with disabilities, and other people who need social services,” the official noted.