A study by the Roma Early Childhood Development Network REIN International was presented on 21 October 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.
#EUROMACHILDREN22
Data for Bulgaria shows that 73% of Roma children face discrimination at a very young age.
The same percentage of Roma families with children in the country rely on benefits and state funds, with between 40 and 45 per cent of them living in poor living conditions, without water and sanitation.
Housing conditions and lack of financial resources lead to another negative statistic - almost every second Roma child, or 47% of children, does not have 3 daily meals with healthy food.
The data was presented by Fernando Macias and Emilia Aiello from the CREA Roma Research Team at the University of Barcelona, who led the study. While Roma policies exist in some of the 11 countries surveyed, and early childhood policies are in place in others, in none of the cases are there sufficient targeted interventions specifically reaching Roma children at an early age. The study was conducted by the REIN national offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belgium, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.
In Bulgaria, the REIN network is coordinated by the Trust for Social Achievement. The study in Bulgaria was implemented through surveys, focus groups and interviews with 50 Roma families with children up to 6 years of age and 30 expert in-depth interviews. The data from the study for Bulgaria show deficits in terms of access of the surveyed families and Roma children up to 6 years of age to early education, healthy nutrition, safe and secure environment and responsive care. More on the Bulgarian and comparative study will be shared in December.
The REIN network supports the efforts of professionals and practitioners working for Roma children in 11 countries across Europe. This year REYN celebrates its 10th anniversary.