Bulgaria scores 3.28 out of 6 on child welfare over 15 years, report says
The National Network for Children's report finds infant mortality has halved, but poverty persists: more than 30% of children are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
Symbolic image · Photo: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dean Johnson / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Bulgaria's state receives an average grade of 3.28 on the national 2-to-6 scale for its care of children over the past 15 years, according to the "Notebook 2026" report by the National Network for Children, presented to parliament's social policy committee. Protection from violence scored 3.35. The state "can do much more," said Maria Brestnichka of the network's secretariat, adding that reforms look fragmented and sector systems do not communicate with each other. The child population has fallen by 80,000 over 15 years.
More than 30% of children live at risk of poverty and social exclusion, and large families are poorer even than pensioners. Infant mortality has halved, but a child born in Razgrad is six times as likely to die in its first year as one born in Sofia. Donika Koleva of the Concordia Foundation said one in three children reports having been a victim of violence or abuse. Aleksandrina Dimitrova, chair of the network's board, called the closure of large children's homes a major achievement; only two remain, in Pleven and Varna.