“The measures adopted by the government in the Action Plan implementing the European Child Guarantee (ECG) will cover 200 000 children from vulnerable groups. The implementation of the plan will also contribute to reducing the number of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 196 750 persons by 2030,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Policy Lazar Lazarov. He opened the final meeting of the National Council for Coordination and Monitoring under the “European Child Guarantee” pilot project in Bulgaria, which is implemented in partnership with UNICEF. The event was attended by the representative of UNICEF in Bulgaria Christina Dorothea de Bruin, Deputy Ministers of Labour and Social Policy Natalia Efremova and Nadia Klisurska, the Executive Director of the Social Assistance Agency Rumyana Petkova, representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science and the State Agency for Child Protection.

“Increasing children’s well-being requires uniting the efforts of institutions, NGOs and specialists from different sectors,” the Deputy Prime Minister concluded. According to him, the partnership is of key importance for achieving quality and sustainable results in the field of policies for children and the family.

Deputy Minister Efremova presented the implementation of the ECG Action Plan, focusing on the efforts of the MLSP toward developing patronage care for children from 0 to 3 years. She underlined that the core funding comes from the state budget. European Social Fund+, grants the amount of more than 136 million euros, with 34,832,013 euros planned only under the Human Resources Development Programme (2021-2027). The funds are aimed at supporting children and families in the field of early childhood development, education, health care, healthy nutrition and housing.

Bulgaria is one of the seven countries in the European Union where pilot projects for the implementation of the European guarantee have been implemented. The project is implemented in partnership with UNICEF. Its main goal was to expand access to and improve the quality of patronage care for families with young children, early intervention for children with disabilities and developmental difficulties, quality inclusive education, and prevention and support services.

The activities are carried out in 10 municipalities (Aytos, Burgas, Kazanlak, Kotel, Nova Zagora, Sliven, Sredets, Stara Zagora, Tvarditsa, and Chirpan) on the territory of Burgas, Sliven, and Stara Zagora regions. Strengthening the capacity of the Child Protection departments in the three pilot regions is among the results of the project.