By a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, June 1 has been observed as International Children’s Day since 1950.

As a social state, Azerbaijan pursues an active policy aimed at protecting children and ensuring that they are surrounded by care and attention. The special attention given to the social sector by President Ilham Aliyev has enabled the continuous strengthening of measures aimed at the social protection, healthy upbringing, and development of children.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population provides various forms of social payments to children belonging to different categories. These include children with disabilities, children who have lost a breadwinner, children from low-income families receiving targeted social assistance, children of martyr families, children of persons with war-related disabilities, children of women with more than five children, and children of conscripted military personnel. Monthly social payments are also provided to caregivers of children with disabilities, individuals caring for children under the age of three, guardians of children deprived of parental care, and families who adopt or foster children. Families receive one-time benefits for newborn children, while foster families are provided with allowances for purchasing seasonal clothing for children under their care. Within the framework of five social reform packages implemented over the past seven years, these social payments have been increased several times.

The DOST Inclusive Development and Creativity Center, established on the initiative of First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva and inaugurated on October 22, 2021, carries out important work in the rehabilitation and development of the talents and abilities of children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. More than 1,000 beneficiaries have participated in training and social-psychological support programs at the Center and its branches in Ismayilli and Barda, including 443 children.

Within the framework of the “Development of Children's Homes and Boarding Schools” program implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, children from vulnerable groups receive rehabilitation-oriented social services in modern social service institutions. These children and their parents also benefit from day-care centers and social service centers. In addition, children with disabilities receive inpatient, outpatient, community-based, online, and mobile rehabilitation services at the Child Rehabilitation Centers No. 1 and No. 2 in Baku, as well as at the centers in Gabala and Shamkir. During the current year, 14,400 children have received rehabilitation services at these centers.

Significant work is also being carried out in the areas of adoption, foster care, and the reintegration of children into families. Since 2019, when the Ministry was entrusted with the implementation and regulation of state policy on adoption, 884 children have been adopted. In recent years, the foster family model has also been introduced in Azerbaijan, and 78 children have been placed with foster families.