Since declaring the existence of a state of emergency on 18 March 2020, the Government of North Macedonia has swiftly introduced a series of temporary measures to prevent and mitigate the negative economic and social consequence of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemics. Until now, in addition to the public health prevention measures, three packages of Governmental measures have been put in use…
Report: Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, No. 17, Spring 2020: The Economic and Social Impact of COVID-19 by the World Bank In Spring 2020, Western Balkan countries – like most others in the world—have been forced to impose tight restrictions on economic life to contain the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. In the first half of 2020,…
Report: TVET Systems’ Response to COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities by the World Bank This note focuses on the role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides guidance on reducing the adverse impact of the pandemic on TVET provision and enhancing the contribution TVET can make…
In periods of crisis caused by major social upheavals such as the current coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2), society is derailed with great consequences to social institutions and people’s lives. The states’ response to this challenge is varied, although most countries are implementing measures to regulate the market and its basic principles in order to meet the subsistence minimum and ensure the socio-economic security of their citizens.
The Feasibility Study will provide a comprehensive analysis of the current child protection policies in Albania, Armenia, Belarus, North Macedonia and Ukraine and will evaluate to what extent a new SOS Children’s Villages Worldwide regional programme will contribute to the fulfilment of human rights of children in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.
At first glance, there is a solid ground for singling out older people during the current pandemic as a special group: the mortality related to COVID-19 is increasing with the age and for those 80 and above years old it is five times the global average based on WHO data.
The European Centre team will support UNICEF Croatia in drafting the Situation Analysis of children and adolescents in Croatia.
Due to the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine is constantly working on the development and improvement of anti-crisis measures aimed at strengthening the social protection. A number of initiatives have been taken in Ukraine to support socially vulnerable groups.
Research carried out by the European Centre had already shown pervasive inequalities in access to care as well as in the coverage of health insurance and potential remedies. The Covid-19 crisis brings the evidence to the headlines of the news that social inequalities and the dismantling of health and social welfare systems are killing people. The current crisis also shows that health and social care are not a ‘product’ which can be produced low-cost and provided to those with sufficiently large incomes only.
The main focus in the field of social development in 2019 focused on the following tasks:
creating a supportive environment for persons with disabilities;
social support for families in difficult circumstances and other categories of population;
creation of conditions for providing a decent old age for the elderly, development of the pension insurance system;
ensuring the protection of children’s rights.