Minister Babayev briefed the participants of the UN forum on the successes of Azerbaijan

At the 60th session of the UN Commission on Social Development, a Ministerial Forum was held on the theme “Strengthening multilateralism in ensuring prosperity and dignity for all through the promotion of sustainable food systems and the eradication of poverty,” the minval.az information Internet portal reports.

Speaking at the forum, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Sahil Babayev stressed that the consistent improvement of the population’s well-being is one of the main priorities of Azerbaijan’s socio-economic policy.

The Minister said that over the past three years, the country has implemented 3 social reform packages worth 5 billion manat (about $3 billion), and the social reform package for 2022 alone covers 2.1 million people. As a result of the reforms, social payments increased by 65 percent, the minimum pension by 2.2 times, the average pension by 60 percent, the minimum wage by 2.3 times, and the annual wage fund more than doubled.

The minister noted the targeted state program of social assistance, which is one of the measures to combat poverty. He noted that last year 47,000 low-income families with 202,000 people received targeted assistance, the average monthly amount of assistance increased by 17 percent compared to last year. He also noted that last year about 4.6 percent of the country’s population or 466,000 people were provided with monthly and one-time social benefits, and the average monthly pension in the country has increased by 60 percent over the past three years.

Noting that within the framework of a joint project with the United Nations Population Fund in Azerbaijan, the Active Aging Index for 2019-2021 has been developed, the minister also drew attention to the measures of social protection and rehabilitation of the disabled.

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