National Network for Children presented the eleventh edition of its Annual Report “What is the Average Government Score for Childcare?”
Average 3.18 (on a scale of 2 to 6) is the overall assessment of the work of the government and institutions in 2021.
The presentation of the “Notebook” took place on April 28 in Sofia, and then the main conclusions and recommendations were discussed at regional meetings in Ruse, Varna, Silistra, Plovdiv and Yambol.
Special guests of the event were Elisaveta Belobradova – MP from “Democratic Bulgaria” and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Labor, Social and Demographic Policy, Hristo Simeonov – MP from “We continue the change” and a member of the Committee on Education and Science, Georgi Georgiev , Chair of the Sofia Municipal Council, Dr. Tanya Andreeva – Adviser to the Minister of Health, Sanya Saranovich – Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Bulgaria, as well as experts from ministries and government agencies.
Experts from National Network for Children and children from the Megaphone Youth Network took part in the presentation.
“We have been evaluating children’s policies for 11 years now, and we have not moved from the rating “3” in that time. Last year, National Statistical Institute released shocking data – Bulgaria’s child population has halved since 1992. If we had good policies, that would not be the case. We have been without a strategy for the child for three years now, a document that should show what these policies are, but which has fallen victim to misinformation and propaganda”, said Georgi Bogdanov, executive director of National Network for Children.
“There is a long list of inherited problems that we must solve together. I propose that a series of discussions be held to discuss specific issues, focusing on good existing practices to be expanded at the national level”, said Sanya Saranovic, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Bulgaria.
“The presentation of the Notebook should be hosted by the government. This is one of the problems in our country – we believe that it is not the main obligation of the state to protect the rights of children, namely it is the one that must ensure the full potential of every child and access to all his rights… The engine of change are civil society organizations, “said Eva Zhecheva, director of the Children’s Rights Directorate at the Bulgarian Ombudsman.
The Notebook is the only independent report of its kind that assesses the progress of public policies for children through fact-based analysis in 9 areas: Child participation, Child welfare, Family environment and alternative care, Protection from all forms of Violence, Child Justice, Early Childhood Development, Child Health, Education, Sport, Culture and Leisure. It also includes specific recommendations for the future work of the state and institutions.
The report is unique in that it is a research product that, in addition to conclusions and recommendations, collects statistics related to policies for children in the nine areas.
The focus of Notebook 2022 is the topic of crisis management and how the Covid 19 pandemic, the political crisis in 2021, the socio-economic situation and the war in Ukraine affected the social protection system in Bulgaria. Special attention is paid to the European Child Guarantee as an instrument of the European Commission to eradicate generational poverty and increase the welfare of children.
The highest score for 2021 was received by the “Education” district – 3.65, and the lowest – by the “Sports, recreation and leisure” district – 2.98.
Highlights:
Welfare
Bulgaria is among the countries with the highest levels of child poverty – every third child in our country (36.2% or 440,000 children under the age of 18) lives at risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to data from Notebook 2022. Only Romania has higher levels of poverty and social exclusion among children (41.5%) compared to the EU average of 24.2%.
1 in 10 children live in a household in which no adult works, and poverty among the unemployed in the country is extremely high – 53%.
Family Environment and Alternative Care
The slow processes of deinstitutionalization continued. The last four large old institutions were not closed. Systemic problems related to foster care and adoption continue.
Children’s Health
In 2021 the number of pediatricians in the country continues to decrease, is one of the alarming findings in the report. A total of 755 physicians with a degree in Pediatrics have signed a contract with the National Health Insurance Fund for last year, which is 117 less than in 2020. The number of child psychiatrists is decreasing – last year their number was only 11 for the whole country. The number of nurses is also critical, with the situation in the Dobrich and Vidin districts being the most worrying.
In 2021, the coverage of most vaccines fell below 90% for the first time, according to data from the National Center for Public Health and Analysis (NCPHA).
Protection from all forms of violence
The fact that the signals for domestic violence submitted to the National Telephone Line for Children are increasing is also alarming – in 2021 605 signals were received, while in 2020 their number was 560. An increase is also observed in the signals for violence at school – 13 were submitted in 2020 and 20 in 2021.
Authors of Notebook 2022 are 30 experts from civil society organizations and 7 external evaluators. Through the conducted surveys, 160 children, young people, parents and professionals, as well as children “reporters” from the Youth Network “Megaphone” were involved in the formation of assessments and recommendations.
Read the report HERE
