Sofia, April 15 2015
For a fourth year the National Network for Children (NNC) presents its “Report Card 2015: What is the Government’s average grade for child-related policies and actions”. The goal of the document is a review of the government’s progress in fulfilling the commitments it has taken. On April 14th the Grade book was presented to minister Kalfin and other government officials at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. The “Healthcare” section of the Report card was presented by BFPA’s Executive Director. On April 15th the Report Card was presented in the Museum of Sofia to media and civil society representatives. The “Healthcare” group discussion was moderated by BFPA’s Programme Manager, with which for a fourth year we demonstrated our empathy and support for the creation and the presenting of the Report Card.
218 children and adolescents had the opportunity to express their point of view about the of the commitments and recommendations in the document. They took part in four focus groups and completed an online survey. This way their opinion and the grades they put became a part of the Report Card, which for a second year gives them an opportunity their voice to be heard.
The grades for 2015 are as follows:
| General principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child | 3.06 |
| Family environment and alternative care | 2.61 |
| Healthcare | 3.31 |
| Education | 3.62 |
| Justice | 3.30 |
| Overall grade | 3.20 |
Besides the analysis of the commitments, taken by the government, the Report Card also points the attention towards 10 questions which are not part of the government strategies and plans, but are exceptionally important for improving the quality of life of the children and the families in Bulgaria – “Ten possible solutions for ten unsolved tasks”. The fact that the work progress is being monitored for a fourth consecutive year makes possible the comparative analysis of the trends in the development of the different sections and directions.
For a better visualization of the messages in Report Card 2015 four short films were presented: „Does the state support the parents in Bulgaria sufficiently?”, “Can you live normally only on social assistance?”, “How will we live together if we don’t study together?”, “Who are the children in conflict with the law?”. We present to your attention the best one according to BFPA – the one in section “Healthcare” (in Bulgarian).
You can find more information on NNC’s webpage in Bulgarian:
http://nmd.bg/en/report-card-2015-what-is-the-average-government-score-for-childcare/
