The City of Zagreb introduced 11 measures to combat poverty: the social policy of the City of Zagreb is above standard

On the occasion of marking the International Day against Poverty and Social Exclusion, on October 18 and 19, 2023, the City of Zagreb is organizing a two-day conference "Image of poverty in cities and counties" with the aim of raising awareness among the professional public about the problem of poverty. The focus is on what cities and counties can do.

Data for the Republic of Croatia indicate the presence of poverty in our society, with the risk of poverty rate hovering around 18% for several years. In the City of Zagreb, the poverty risk rate has been decreasing in the last few years, so it was 18.5% in 2020, 11.6% in 2021, and 9.5% in 2022.

"It is important to realize that behind these numbers are the human destinies of individuals, families, and children, and this realization motivates us to work on combating poverty, because it is a reflection of our social and moral responsibility. We must do more in the fight against poverty, especially the poverty of the elderly and children," said Mayor Tomislav Tomašević.

"In addition to making the public aware of the problem of poverty, this conference aims to encourage the exchange of knowledge about poverty monitoring, models of prevention and its suppression in cities and counties, as well as to talk about the effects of measures and activities aimed at citizens at risk of poverty and social exclusion," she added. Deputy Mayor Danijela Dolenec.

"We are aware that the budget of the City of Zagreb is much larger than that of other cities and counties, but social policy is much more than securing material resources. That's why we continuously monitor the standard of living of our fellow citizens and adjust fees and services according to the needs of users, but we also think strategically and long-term," said Mayor Tomašević.

In addition to the strategic commitment, the measures and activities that the City of Zagreb provides to its citizens are key, namely a wide range of social, health and educational services and rights aimed at preventing the risk of poverty and social exclusion.

Stimulated by the consequences of the pandemic, the City of Zagreb adopted the Zagreb Strategy for the Fight against Poverty and Social Exclusion for the period from 2021 to 2025 in order to better guide future action. It thus became the first city in the Republic of Croatia to design and adopt a strategic document exclusively dedicated to prevention. poverty and social exclusion.

During 2022, the City of Zagreb introduced five measures aimed at the most vulnerable fellow citizens:

• Cash allowance for beneficiaries of the national allowance for the elderly

• Compensation for housing costs for beneficiaries of the right to financial compensation for unemployed Croatian veterans from the Homeland War and their family members

• Compensation for children's allowance users

• Fairer realization of rights for people with disabilities - equalization of the amount of beneficiaries of assistance and care allowance and beneficiaries of personal disability allowance

• The right to food in a soup kitchen for beneficiaries of financial benefits for unemployed Croatian veterans from the Homeland War.

In 2023, six measures to combat poverty were introduced:

• the coverage of beneficiaries of the right to monetary compensation for pensioners has been expanded

• monetary benefits for child beneficiaries of assistance and care allowance have been increased

• monetary benefits for beneficiaries of personal disability benefits have been increased

• the scope of beneficiaries of the right to a free annual ZET demonstration card has been extended to pensioners

• a free monthly ZET demonstration card for victims of domestic violence was introduced

• for the purpose of combating energy poverty, a new right to an energy package was introduced for beneficiaries of the housing allowance.

These new measures, which were introduced through the Decision on Social Welfare, in 2022 and 2023 covered about 20,000 new beneficiaries, and in the Budget for 2023, about 20,000,000.00 euros were provided for social rights and services.

"Social policy is a series of measures that must help when help is most needed, ease life's adversities, but also ensure human dignity. This is what is the focus of the measures implemented by the City of Zagreb", stressed Mayor Tomašević.

The conference was attended by Vesna Tomić, Katarina Radat, Mile Novačić and Alen Župan in front of Instirution City of Zagreb DOBRI DOM."

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