President Vahagn Khachaturyan received Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan

President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan received Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Narek Mkrtchyan.

During the meeting, the Minister presented to the President details about the progress and results of the reforms carried out by the Ministry recently. A reference was made to the programs of social assistance provided to internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh and the activities carried out by the Ministry in this direction.

Minister Narek Mkrtchyan informed that since February 1, 2023, a new system has been introduced in the field of problems of people with disabilities, which made it possible to conduct a comprehensive assessment of human needs, consider disability also in the context of social factors and determine the type of social services adequate to the individual needs of each person.

With the implementation of the system the necessary digital solutions were provided in a short time, which can serve as the best example for a number of other countries on the way to evaluating functionality.

In 2023, an assessment of human functionality was carried out for 11,930 people.

Referring to the reforms implemented in the field of social assistance and upcoming programs, the Minister informed the President of the Republic that the Ministry plans to introduce a new vulnerability assessment system, thanks to which social assistance programs will be more targeted. It is planned to introduce the new system in stages, starting in 2024. This will provide an opportunity to help extremely poor families overcome extreme poverty, on the way to which the state will make the necessary efforts to develop the skills and abilities of families registered in the vulnerability system, which will give families the opportunity to get a job, stable employment and improve living conditions.

Narek Mkrtchyan noted that according to the results expected from the implementation of the system, the goal is:
• Reduce the number of families receiving benefits by 20% by 2026
• Increase targeting by 25% (75-80% of benefits will go to the poorest 20% of the population)
• Eradicate extreme poverty
• Reduce poverty level
• Create the ability to make automated decisions using a digitized set of tools.

The President of the Republic thanked the Minister for his consistent work and stressed his readiness, within the framework of his powers, to contribute to the implementation of reforms in the sphere and the implementation of planned programs.