UNICEF estimates say that the number of poor children has increased by almost 30,000 over the past year, and the most vulnerable are children living in large families, rural households and Roma settlements, writes Politika.

The absolute poverty rate in Serbia in 2021 was 8.9 percent, which means that almost every tenth person in Serbia could not meet the basic subsistence needs of food and clothing, and estimates say that this rate has increased in the past year between 0 , 3 and 2.5 percent.

- During every crisis, the poor become even poorer, and the rich become even richer - this was also shown by the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Research that includes projections of poverty among the elderly shows that those living in rural and remote areas have the hardest time meeting their needs for food, hygiene products or medicine.

This means that every eighth person in Serbia cannot meet the basic existential needs for food and clothing, and people over 65 are in a particularly difficult situation.

Link: https://rominfomedia.rs/2023/02/14/siromastvo-tesko-pogadja-decu-koja-zive-u-romskim-naseljima-velikim-porodicama-i-seoskim-domacinstvima/

It is based on the EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation. As an EU Member State, Finland is committed to the objectives of the strategic framework, and aims to promote the equality and inclusion of the Roma in different areas of life. The cross-cutting objectives of the National Roma Policy are equality, inclusion and participation, as well as the elimination of discrimination by tackling antigypsyism. These priorities will guide the mainstreaming of the Roma policy measures. The National Roma Policy also includes four sectoral sets of objectives related to education, employment, housing and health. It also contains measures to strengthen the social, linguistic and cultural rights of Roma people. Finland’s National Roma Policy was prepared in collaboration with different stakeholders, and the measures will be targeted correctly using the lifecycle model. In accordance with the guidelines of the European Commission, a report on the implementation of the National Roma Policy will be submitted to the Commission every two years. The Commission will monitor progress by making use of surveys carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the feedback received from civil society. An indepth mid-term evaluation will be carried out of the EU’s current 10-year strategic framework at the EU level, and conducting a mid-term evaluation of Finland’s national strategic framework is also included in the National Roma Policy.

Link: https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/164620/STM_2023_3.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y&fbclid=IwAR3v6L0EqH66TF9n9sCS-uSe9L2ivBdXrQM-sRJ1ah6rn6RzoRi1nNhCHYo