The Coalition of NGOs on Child Protection in Kosovo (KOMF) supports the establishment of a €5.5 million fund for the medical treatment of children suffering from serious illnesses and called on Prime Minister Hashim Thaci to make concrete steps to establish the fund.
However, KOMF considers that attention should also be given to the children in need of social welfare.
The NGO coalition sent a letter to PM Thaci, requesting that he increase the monthly social welfare allowance to compensate the rising yearly inflation and invalidate the criteria stipulating that the family entitled to the allowance should at least have one child under the age of five.
KOMF also provided medium-term recommendations, including providing an allowance for children, which is a practice employed in many countries as the most effective tool in alleviating poverty.
KOMF considers that despite the protection of children in need being identified explicitly in the Constitution of Kosovo and the applicable legislation and the Programme of the Kosovo Government foreseeing investment in the field of social welfare, the increase of the social assistance scheme was minimal in the last two mandates of the Government and there was no evident alleviation of child poverty.
