UNICEF called on the Government of Armenia today to urgently focus its efforts on identifying policy solutions to address child poverty which continues to be higher than poverty level for the rest of the country’s population, according to the “Social Snapshot and Poverty in Armenia” 2011 Annual Report published by the National Statistical Service.
Over 300,000 children inArmeniaor 41.4 per cent live in poverty against 35.8 per cent for the rest of the population, according to the report. More, over 27,000 children or 3.7 per cent live in extreme against three per cent for the rest of the population.
Children living in families with 4 and more children are the poorest, according to the report. Total poverty level among those families is almost 71 per cent, while extreme poverty level – 26.4 per cent.
Children with disabilities are the second most vulnerable group. Over 5 per cent of these children live in extreme poverty, while 54 per cent are poor.
“This report produced by the National Statistical Service of Armenia is an essential source of data based on which planning should be done. By highlighting the fact that children inArmeniaare the poorest among the poor, it calls upon everyone to seriously look into this problem and seek for ways to address it adequately,” UNICEF Representative in Armenia Henriette Ahrens said.
Family benefits continue to play a crucial role in the well-being of children from extremely poor and poor families. Despite improved targeting, family benefits do not reach all those who desperately need it. Presently, only 67 per cent of extremely poor families and 26 per cent of poor families receive family benefits on a regular basis which is still below the level of 2008.
In its report the National Statistical Service of Armenia once again confirmed that only 0.1 per cent of GDP will be required to reach all extremely poor families with family benefits.
“I would like to call on the Government of Armenia to address the problem of child poverty as a matter of urgency and ensure that children are able to exercise their basic rights to survival, health and education. We hope that during budget discussions in the Armenian parliament, government and members of the parliament will also focus on measures to address child poverty. Failure to address child poverty now may lead to irreversible consequences both for children and the entire country development in future,” UNICEF Representative emphasized.
