Poverty risk indicators for the Roma population have significantly declined in the past 2-3 years, an official at Hungary’s Ministry of Human Capacities has said.
The proportion of Roma experiencing income poverty fell from 68% to 63% while in-work poverty rate fell from 43% to 27% and the deprivation rate from 78% to 68%, state secretary Károly Czibere told a meeting of the Roma Coordination Council. He said the latter indicator showed bigger improvement among the Roma than the non-Roma population. The results are proof that the government’s catch-up policies and spending on developments have helped improvements, Mr. Czibere claimed.
Helpful measures included making attendance at nursery school compulsory and infant day-care meals free of charge for a wider range of people, while also improving early infant education centers and access to one free meal a day in schools. Mr. Czibere also noted the fostered work schemes which enrolled 60 000-66 000 Roma, as well as talent-nurturing programs in schools.
via: hungarymatters.hu; kormany.hu
photo: 444.hu; capacenter.hu