Some 500 houses built for martyr families Some

By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

The construction of about 500 private houses for families of martyrs and disabled veterans in 41 cities and regions of Azerbaijan is nearing completion, the Labor and Social Security Ministry has reported.

Labor and Social Security Minister Sahil Babayev said that the houses will be commissioned in the near future.

The minister stressed that the number of apartments provided to citizens in the aforementioned categories increased fivefold from 2018 to 2020, reaching 3,000 in 2021.

“To date, over 12,300 apartments and private houses have been provided to these citizens. The reform package for 2022, which provides for a significant increase in salaries, pensions, and other social benefits, has covered 3.4 million people. An additional $1.2 billion (2.1 billion AZN) will be allocated annually for these purposes,” the minister added.

The board also noted that the five DOST centers created earlier had provided services to more than 700,000 citizens during their functioning. In 2022, it is planned to open DOST Center No 5 in Baku and the DOST Center in Barda as the first regional center of the DOST Agency.

The ministry's State Agency for Medical and Social Expertise and Rehabilitation announced the launch of mobile and rehabilitation services, as well as the implementation of an individual rehabilitation program.

During the meeting, it was announced that Shamkir region's Children's Rehabilitation Center would be completed this year.

Furthermore, it was stated that 12 regional social service centers and specialized social service centers will be established on the basis of the Ministry's Social Services Agency branches.

The meeting also discussed efforts to broaden the use of digital technologies in the social sphere.

It was stated that a DOST branch with special status will be established in Shusha as part of the East Zangazur and Karabakh DOST Agency's program.

As part of the smart village project, a smart DOST service point will be established in liberated  Zangilan region's Aghali village this year.

The DOST Agency, which was established in 2018 on First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva's initiative and by President Ilham Aliyev's decree, provides state social services in a timely, transparent, modern, and innovative manner.

Currently, there are five DOST centers. In 2021, these centers served 410,575 citizens, up from 651,155 in the previous year.