Kazakhstan is considering increasing its childcare allowance, after the deputy of the Majilis –Kazakhstan’s lower house of Parliament– called for a series of improvements to the country’s provisions for mothers and their children, Total.kz reported.

Majilis deputy Aizhan Skakova said current budgetary provisions for prisoners exceeded that accorded to pregnant women and children.

“The social payment in Kazakhstan for childcare is valid only until the child reaches the age of one, and the social payment for pregnancy and childbirth due to the loss of income is designed only for working women, ” Skakova told Parliament. ” Failure to make these investments early in a child’s life increases the likelihood of inequality spiralling as a result.”

The country’s monthly childcare allowance is currently 16,801.92 tenge ($40), she said.

Skakova’s submission to Parliament suggested the following reforms

• Increasing the childcare allowance to the minimum level to ensure sustenance and other basic personal needs
• Establishing a period of paid maternity leave of up to two years
• Establishing a separate children’s consumer goods basket, establishing the key components for the full development of a child, including food, hygiene products and access to child development centers