DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS ON CURRENT PROBLEMS IN PROVIDING THE POPULATION WITH INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT AND THEIR SOLUTIONS.

Аннотация

The article analyzes the state of provision of the population with personal and collective means of protection in the Republic of Uzbekistan, existing problems and ways to eliminate them. During the study, the level of provision of the population with protective means, their safety culture, the technical condition of the protection infrastructure, the effectiveness of information and educational work, and the financing system were studied in depth. The results obtained showed that the level of protection of the population in emergency situations can be significantly increased by means of systemic reforms, strengthening the legal framework, expanding educational work, and improving financial and organizational mechanisms. The article presents recommendations developed on the basis of international experience. Keywords: personal protective equipment, collective protective equipment, safety culture, emergency situations, information and educational work, infrastructure, recommendations. Introduction. In the modern era, in the context of increasing man-made, biological, chemical and natural hazards, the issue of providing the population with personal and collective protective equipment is gaining urgent importance in preventing emergencies and reducing their consequences. In particular, the availability of individual (personal) and collective (collective) protective equipment and their effective use are important factors in ensuring the safety of the population living near industrial enterprises, transport networks, and large infrastructures. Personal protective equipment is a device that protects the human respiratory tract, skin, eyes and hearing organs from harmful substances, biological agents, dust, smoke and toxic gases. These include masks, respirators, gas masks, protective clothing, gloves, glasses. Collective protective equipment usually includes such means as protective structures, evacuation systems, special filtration ventilation systems. These means serve to provide mass protection to groups of the population in emergency situations. Ensuring the personal safety of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan during emergency situations, protecting them, and providing them with the necessary means is one of the priorities of state policy[1]. https://scientific-jl.com/new 11 44 11 Volume–78_Issue-1_June-2025 JOURNAL OF NEW CENTURY INNOVATIONS However, monitoring and analysis conducted in recent years show that the level of preparedness of the population for emergencies, in particular, the availability of personal and collective protective equipment and the skills to use them, remains low. The reasons for this are multifactorial and can be divided into social, economic, organizational, and informational aspects. First of all, there is a problem of imbalance between the population's need for protective equipment and their availability. Many households do not always have even the most basic personal protective equipment - medical masks, gloves, or simple respirators. A certain part of the population does not know how to use such equipment or does not understand the need to purchase them. From an economic point of view, these equipment remains financially inaccessible to some social strata. From an organizational point of view, local authorities and special services have not sufficiently established regular explanations, training, and exercises for the population. Also, the experience of pandemics (such as COVID-19), fires, earthquakes, and man-made explosions has shown that delays in quickly and effectively providing a large part of the population with protective equipment, logistical problems, and a weak reserve system lead to serious consequences. These situations have posed a threat to the vital activities of the population, harmed health, and in some cases caused human losses. These situations indicate the need for a comprehensive review of the existing system aimed at protecting citizens in emergency situations in the conditions of Uzbekistan, strengthening its reserve resources, financial support, legal and organizational foundations. Full and timely provision of the population with personal and collective protective equipment serves to increase their safety not only in emergency situations, but also in everyday life. This, in turn, is an important component of increasing the level of national security, stability, and social protection of citizens. In this regard, this study examines the level of provision of the population with personal and collective protective equipment in Uzbekistan, analyzes existing problems, their root causes and systemic shortcomings. Special attention is also paid to the development of comprehensive solutions and scientifically based recommendations to address the identified problems. Results. In order to study the status of the population's provision of personal and collective protective equipment, comprehensive monitoring was conducted during 2024–2025 based on social surve