MPPS: 38% of children live in risky conditions, government should introduce universal child allowance
MPPS says nearly 22% of residents are below the poverty line and calls on the government to introduce a universal child benefit.
The Macedonian Platform Against Poverty (MPPS) warned on 17 October that nearly 22 percent of the country’s residents live below the poverty line and urged the government to introduce a universal child allowance to curb growing childhood deprivation.
MPPS’s data show that 29.5% of children in North Macedonia live in monetary poverty, while 38% experience multidimensional poverty — conditions that endanger children’s health, learning, safety and overall development.
Only 19% of households with children currently receive child and family allowances, a rate MPPS contrasts sharply with the 88% coverage across the European Union.
Platform calls for a universal benefit
Presenting the figures on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, MPPS argued that a universal child allowance would strengthen social protection for families, reduce exclusion and address the multiple risks identified in the organisation’s assessment.
The platform urged concrete policy steps from the Government of North Macedonia to expand coverage and simplify access to benefits so that support reaches children who now live in risky conditions for their health and development.
Photo: K. Popov)
