Number of Children at Risk of Poverty Down by 22,000 Year-on-Year in 2024

Bratislava, 11 April (TASR) - The number of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion fell by 22,000 year-on-year in 2024, but reforms will need to continue in order to meet the programme's goals by 2030, according to a report on the implementation of the National Action Plan for the European Child Guarantee, which the government took note of earlier this week. The document, submitted for discussion by the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Ministry, states that Slovakia made progress in reducing child poverty between 2024-2025. Nevertheless, there were 30,000 more children at risk of poverty than in 2019, which serves as the baseline for achieving the goals of the National Action Plan. Slovakia's goal is to reduce the number of children at risk by 21,000 when compared to 2019 by 2030. According to the report, a significant shift in addressing this issue has occurred in the field of education. The education reform adopted in 2025 introduced mandatory pre-primary education starting at the age of four as of the 2027/2028 school year, with plans to expand it to three-year-olds as well. The measure is intended to help reduce inequalities, particularly among children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and marginalised Roma communities. In the health-care sector, unequal access to care remains a challenge, noted the author. The 'Healthy Communities' outreach programme has proven to be an effective tool for working in marginalised communities, and securing its long-term funding will be crucial. In the housing sector, measures to support social housing are not yet sufficient to address the shortage of affordable housing for families with children. The proportion of households with high housing costs or inappropriate heating remains among the highest in the EU. The main challenges identified by the report for the coming months include, in particular, the need to transform successful pilot projects into systemic solutions, to improve the availability of data on children in need, and to remove barriers that prevent the most vulnerable children from accessing services. am/df/ko