Diario de Noticias, 2 September, 2009.

Nation's toddlers are underfunded

Published on 2 September 2009 at 14:28
Diario de Noticias, 2 September, 2009.

Cover

Portugal spends considerably less on children under the age of five than other OECD countries, notesDiário de Notícias. In a report entitled "Childhood decides" published on 1st September, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development "concludes that as a general rule, the quality of life for minors in Portugal falls well short of the average level for developed countries," explains the Lisbon daily. However, Portugal's overall investment in childhood, "a spend of between 60,000 and 70,000 euros per child spread over the first 18 years," is deemed to be reasonable with regard to standards of living in the country."

The OECD report "is based on a wide range of indicators… not all of which are recent." Diário de Notícias reports that Portugal lags behind other countries in areas like child benefits and tax breaks for families. However, it further notes that "measures implemented by the current socialist government like the reinforcement of town hall schemes to assist schoolchildren in need have not been taken into account by the report."

Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday
Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!

On the same topic