Concern over exclusion, poverty affecting minors
In its report published on Saturday on the “Situation of Children and Youth in Greece 2021,” UNICEF expressed deep concern about the high number of children that continue to live in conditions of poverty and social exclusion.
More specifically, it said there was a decrease in the rate of children (0-17) at risk of poverty or social exclusion from 37.8% (710,000 children) to 30.5% (568,000 children) between 2015 and 2019 (EU target is 18%), yet Greece “remains one of three European Union member-states with the highest risk of children living in poverty or social exclusion.”
The share of non-Greek children residing in the country who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion is almost double compared to Greek nationals (52.6% vs 28.4% in 2019), it added, while noting that multifamily households and single-parent households demonstrate persistently higher levels of poverty.
Moreover, the report also noted a lack of comprehensive data at the national level for children affected by all forms of violence.
Amid this extremely problematic and worrying reality, there were also theoretical nuggets of optimism, as reported by UNICEF, stemming from the ongoing action plans by the Greek government to make progress on all fronts.
