6.7% Of Maltese Children Are Critically Deprived Of Basic Needs And Social Services
According to new data reported by Eurostat, 6.7% of children in Malta are considered to be seriously underprivileged and deprived of material and social basic needs.
In Malta and Gozo, around two out of ten adolescents under the age of sixteen are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
However, only 5.1% of the general population is estimated to be deprived of such necessities, which is comparatively low compared to the EU’s average – 6.8%.
Eurostat defines being materially and socially deprived as significantly lacking in seven out of these thirteen goods or services:
- Ability to pay for unexpected expenses;
- Ability to pay for at least a one-week holiday;
- Ability to repay debt, bills and rent;
- Capacity to pay for meat, chicken, fish, or a vegetarian meal every two days;
- Ability to keep your home at an adequate temperature;
- Have access to a vehicle for personal use;
- Ability to buy new furniture;
- Have internet access;
- Ability to buy new clothes;
- Have access to two pairs of well-fitted shoes;
- Capacity to spend some money each week for personal reasons;
- Have access to leisure activities;
- Ability to, at least once a month, meet friends or relatives.
Last December, a survey published by the National Statistics Office (NSO), revealed that 20.3% of the island’s population was at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion.
PN MPs Ivan Bartolo, David Agius, Graziella Attard Previ and Albert Buttigieg issued a joint statement on this data, warning that ”more than 100,000 people are in poverty, whilst the inner circle continues to pig out”.
“While Rosianne Cutajar wrote that everyone is pigging out, Robert Abela was getting paid €17,000 a month for part-time work at the Planning Authority,” the PN said. “The culture of ‘I don’t care, everyone is pigging out’ is a precise summary of the last ten years of the PL government and Robert Abela cannot be believed when he says he is there for the workers.”
What do you make of these figures?
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