Events

MINSK, 29 April (BelTA) – Belarus will develop the National Plan of Action on the Improvement of the Situation of Children and Protection of their Rights by 2020, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian government.

Belarus’ Council of Ministers hosted a session of the National Commission on Children’s Rights on 28 April. The session was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vasily Zharko. The participants reviewed the results of the implementation of the National Plan of Action on the Improvement of the Situation of Children and Protection of their Rights for 2012-2016. The commission decided to continue improving the conditions to protect children’s rights and interests and working out the plan for 2017-2020, the press service clarified.

According to Vasily Zharko, Belarus became the first country in the WHO European Region to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in 2016 (a woman’s risk of passing HIV to her child has been reduced 19 times, from 26.9% in 2000 to 1.4% in 2016). The country boasts having developed the systems of social patronage of families in difficult life situation and palliative medical care for children.

The country has achieved certain results in realizing the right of every child to grow up in a family (the share of orphans and children deprived of parental care provided with foster care increased from 71.2% in 2011 to 80.9% in late 2016.

The deputy prime minister underlined that the state needs to cultivate a stable need for a healthy way of life among young people and promote information security awareness among children. The participants of the session noted that the state should put more effort to shied children from negative information that damages their health and development.