Manastirliu convenes National Council of Children: Strengthen child protection and support mechanisms

The Minister of Health and Social Protection, Ogerta Manastirliu in the opening of her speech said that what unites us in this meeting is the highest interest of children.

“Here we are all together with fellow ministers and other government representatives, but also with independent institutions, civil society organizations and the very presence of children’s representations, to engage all together, to take one more step towards strengthening the child protection system; to take one more step towards the inclusion and support of children; to take one more step, in increasing investments in every sector to ensure the well-being of our children “, said Manastirliu.

Speaking on the National Agenda for the Rights of the Child 2021-2026, Manastirliu emphasized the prevention and immediate assistance to children at risk.

“This Council has an added value in the whole mechanism of the system of prevention of those phenomena that endanger our children the most. If the whole chain of prevention works in time, starting from school, to community policing, to the social protection system, to the health system, to social justice, I am convinced that the elimination of the existing phenomena will not be simply an objective of “10 more years but it will be a goal that we can achieve very quickly”, said Manastirliu.

Seeking better interaction through structures, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Ogerta Manastirliu said that the reintegration of children remains a challenge.

“No less important is the integration of children in street situations and children in social difficulties. The fact that we have expanded structures with child rights staff is definitely good news. But all of us, with the support and irreplaceable role of civil society, must not allow any child to be rescued from a situation without first having a prevention system. Protect our children by preventing this phenomenon. This becomes possible only thanks to the cooperation with all structures in the territory, civil society, local institutions, central institutions and our community structures “, said Manastirliu, noting that the Social Fund has supported 10 municipalities to establish services for children with different abilities or at risk.

Manastirliu called 2022-were the year of children for attention and investments for children.

“It will be the year of children because our attention will be on those children who need it most. It is now a law and we are fully committed to make functional as soon as possible a commitment of the Prime Minister for “Children in the Care of the Republic”. Also, for all families that are part of the economic assistance program and have more than 3 children, we double the amount of economic assistance, while for children without parental care, we triple the amount of financial support for them. It will be the year of the children because some very important programs of the Albanian government will be implemented, which have already started to take shape, as an investment for every child during this year and of course in the future “, said Manastirliu.

The meeting of the National Consultation on the Rights and Protection of the Child gathered to coordinate all institutions in order to implement the objectives of the National Agenda for the Rights of the Child 2021-2026.
The newly adopted National Agenda for the Rights of the Child is of a cross-sectoral nature and includes goals, objectives and measures, which aim at:
– To affect the lives of children, by improving the quality of services at all levels;
– Promote a culture of children’s rights and lay the foundations for meaningful children’s participation;
– To enable the protection of children from all forms of violence;
– Provide quality data in order to improve policies and programs designed for children;
– To realize education in order to protect children while using online services, thus guaranteeing the well-being and a better future for children.

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