Regional Government begins dissemination of first Action Plan under the Regional Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion
The Regional Government began this week on the island of Flores and Corvo a series of sessions that will reach all municipalities of the Region in the next two months. They are intended to disseminate the first Action Plan under the Regional Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion, which comprises about 80 actions to be implemented in the 2018-2019 biennium.
These sessions will be carried out by members of the Government and Regional Directors in several areas of governance, namely Education, Health, Social Solidarity and Employment. They will continue the efforts already undertaken prior to the development of this Strategy under which 450 people were heard throughout the 19 municipalities of the Region.
At that time, participants had the opportunity to convey how they tackled the issue of poverty in their territory and discuss possible solutions to be implemented to solve this problem.
The Action Plan embodies these concerns by defining a series of measures to be developed by various governmental departments, also in partnership with local institutions. It will award priority status to the inclusive development of all children and young people from the very beginning as a way to break the reproductive cycle of poverty and inequality between generations as well as to reduce structural poverty in the Region.
This plan comprises actions aimed at promoting health, providing quality education for all, ensuring equity in the access to public services and improving the integration of young people into the labour market regardless of the social status of families.
Moreover, there will be actions designed to improve child and youth health surveillance through consultations at Health Centres, promote the attendance of children in daycare centres, improve the qualification of young people in order to enhance their employability and reinforce the monitoring of social integration income beneficiaries in terms of their professional inclusion.
This Plan also includes measures for the elderly, such as the expansion of home services provided by health units or a survey on existing architectural barriers in the homes of elderly people with reduced mobility towards their eventual elimination.
The implementation of this Plan is supervised by a Scientific Commission made up of experts of recognised merit in different relevant areas, who will provide the necessary scientific advice.