Azerbaijan's post-war social support policy
By Sabina Mammadli
Large-scale social support measures are being successfully implemented in the post-war period under the leadership of Azerbaijani President, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev.
Azerbaijan's social policy prioritizes assisting families of martyrs and disabled veterans by improving their housing and living conditions.
On President Ilham Aliyev's orders, the program in this area is expanding year by year. The complex measures taken to strengthen citizens' social protection, including housing and car security, are a clear example of this.
Housing
A total of 12,300 families have been provided with housing over the past period.
It should be noted that families of martyrs and disabled veterans received 626 apartments and houses in 2018, 934 in 2019, and 1572 in 2020.
The provision of 11,000 living spaces in 2021-2025, initiated by a Presidential Decree signed on January 25, 2021, enabled the program to be expanded further. In 2021, 3,000 apartments will be provided to the families of martyrs and disabled veterans as a result of this program. This figure is five times higher than it was three years ago.
Another 164 veterans will be given cars in 2021. To date, 7,400 veterans have been provided with automobiles.
Employment
In this regard, 15,841 social payments (presidential scholarships, social benefits, and pensions) were assigned to 7,942 family members of Great Patriotic War martyrs, while 2,515 war veterans received disability and social benefits. The number of social payments made to the families of martyrs and disabled veterans has increased significantly.
Approximately 10,000 people, including members of martyrs' families, war veterans, and victims of Armenian terror, received employment assistance, including approximately 6,000 people who participated in the self-employment program. The "Employment Marathon", which began in June 2021 and featured 3,971 vacancies, drew 607 employers. Approximately 1,500 families of martyrs and war veterans have already been hired to fill these positions.
Rehabilitation
Some 5,000 people received psycho-correctional services, and 1,300 received rehabilitation and social-psychological services in rehabilitation institutions. Some 184 servicemen received 193 high-tech modern 4th generation prostheses, 955 people, the majority of whom are disabled veterans, received motorized wheelchairs, and 1,197 people received 12,948 means of rehabilitation.
Unified coordination centers were established by President Ilham Aliyev's decree dated June 25, 2021. Previously, the single coordination centers served 11,000 people, including members of martyrs' families, servicemen injured in the war, and people with war-related disabilities. There are currently regional unified coordination DOST centers in Baku and the Absheron region, as well as Ganja, Masalli, and Ujar.
So far, 45,000 people, including members of martyrs' families, war veterans, and victims of Armenian terror, have received post-war social support, with 50,000 services provided.
The work done in this area demonstrates that, despite the ongoing economic and financial difficulties caused by the pandemic, ensuring citizens' well-being and satisfaction, as well as attention to the families of martyrs and disabled veterans, is one of Azerbaijan's main priorities.
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