According to a report by Save the Children, 34.8% of children in the Valencia Region are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
In the last Conditions of LIfe survey carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) 310,000 under 18s were found to be living in a situation where poverty was a risk.
This figure has increased during the past year, as a result of the pandemic, and children growing up in this situation can be seriously affected when the family income is not enough to cover basic needs related to education, health and home.
The number of children at risk of severe poverty has risen from 14.9% to 19% and there are now around 170,000 children in that situation, almost 38,000 more than a year ago. Save the Children chose yesterday, 20 November, World Children’s Day to highlight the plight of these youngsters.
“We see it every day with the families we work with: choosing between paying bills or buying food is a horrible situation. It’s essential that the regional government continues to take adequate measures to fight childhood poverty or we will be compromising the present and the future of these boys and girls, ” said Rodrigo Hernández, regional director of Save the Children.
The charity has called for greater protection and improvement in the management of benefits, prioritising families with children and single-parent families. They have also demanded more resources be made available, in particular those specialized in social services.
The Valencia Report 