One of the fundamental principles of the fight against poverty is that, rather than resorting to the mere treatment of the symptoms, we should tackle the processes and situations that constantly regenerate poverty on a systemic level, Zoltán Kovács, State Secretary for Social Inclusion at the Ministry of Human Resources said on Thursday in Bátonyterenye in Nógrád County.

At the press conference held on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Zoltán Kovács said that a new organisational division had been set up with the dedicated mission of concentrating on the situation of those living in extreme poverty and individuals with multiple disadvantages, including the Roma, as one of the most important responsibilities of the State Secretariat is to deal with the problems of these social strata and the opportunities that they may be presented with.

The State Secretary said that the selected location, one of the kindergartens of the locality, was symbolic as the struggle of facing poverty starts in childhood, and the measures of the inclusion strategy, too, primarily target children and young people.

According to the State Secretary’s account, as part of the Integrated Pedagogical System (IPS), some 18 thousand children are awarded scholarships based on quality criteria. 1,848 institutions of public education and 13 thousand teachers participate in the programme. These institutions are able to provide for the needs of 79 thousand students with multiple disadvantages and 25 thousand children attending kindergarten.
We fight against poverty based on an approach which will constitute sustainable and viable foundations for the years ahead of us, Zoltán Kovács said.

Mrs Asztalosné, Erika Zupcsán, Deputy State Secretary Responsible for Social Affairs, announced at the press conference in speaking about the homeless that a decision has been adopted on the tender invited for winter emergency care services. Based on this, some HUF 45 million will be allocated for the expenditures of a dispatch centre, HUF 186 million will be made available for care in the Budapest region and tender funds of the amount of HUF 145 million will be allocated for homeless emergency care in the provinces. Bids submitted for catering, health care services and outdoor social work not subsidised on a regular basis were awarded the bulk of the funding, she added.

Zsolt Becsó, President of the Nógrád County Municipality, Member of Parliament for Fidesz reported that in Nógrád County, too, minimum 60 per cent of the funds available in the next seven years will be devoted to the development of the economy, while they will also work on the social renewal programme, with special regard to the extreme poverty and high level of unemployment that are prevalent in the region. The main targets of this programme are the reduction of the number of those living in extreme poverty, the improvement of the chances of finding employment and the reduction of school drop-out rates.

Miklós Vecsei, Vice-President of the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service said that there are enormous disparities within the micro-regions, including vast differences even between the most disadvantaged areas, and each of these requires different interventions. It is for these that they request, and have in recent periods received, the necessary means, he said, adding that it has become perfectly clear that if the government in office „is unable to send supplies and ammunition to the border forts", they will be unable to engage in the fight.

State Secretary Zoltán Kovács reiterated in this context that it is crucial that the available resources should indeed be channelled to the right places, in contrast to practices in the past when, before 2010, hundreds of billions of forints were spent without any system of tracking or accountability.

(MTI, Ministry of Human Resources)