“We have to leave public procurement procedures and let a person with disabilities choose the necessary technical equipment, services, social worker himself,” Svetlana Zhakupova, vice minister of labor and social protection of the population of Kazakhstan, said this at a press conference in the Government.

Kazakhstanis with special needs will be able to independently select and acquire the necessary technical equipment and means of transportation at the expense of the budget through a special portal, which, in turn, will solve the problem of purchasing low-quality and inappropriate special equipment.

“The social services portal is when a citizen with special needs, having seen the supplier of a particular product or service, has the right to choose his product. If he chooses technical devices above the class, he can pay extra (if the price exceeds the planned budget). This concerns not only technical means, rehabilitation, but also services, the choice of a social worker, an individual assistant, and sanatorium-and-spa treatment,” said Zhakupova.

At the same time, the vice minister noted that the portal should start its work before the end of the year. The portal will unite recipients and providers of social services on a single digital platform and provide an opportunity to acquire better services, facilities, devices and assistive technologies.

According to statistics, as of Jan. 1, 2019, 685 thousand people with disabilities live in Kazakhstan, of which 421 thousand people of working age (61.5%), 176 thousand people (25.7%) are people of retirement age, 88 thousand people (12.8%) — children under 18 years old. For families with special needs children, benefits will be increased from July 1.

“If today we pay 31 thousand tenge, then from July 1 we will pay 41 thousand 578 tenge,” S. Zhakupova emphasized. Today, over 323 billion tenge is allocated from the state budget to support persons with special needs.

In addition, the issue of opening social jobs for mothers caring for children with disabilities is being considered.

“For mothers who care for children with special needs, we are considering the issue of opening social jobs, that is, you can work at home. There are such categories of children who do not require a 24-hour presence, constant care, during breaks she can carry out activities and receive wages,” said Zhakupova.