Children 'suffer malnutrition, poor education and social exclusion' due to austerity measures and three in 10 live in poverty, says Council of Europe
Thursday, October 10, 2013 @ 10:52 AM
AUSTERITY measures in Spain are having 'devastating' effects on the mental and physical health of children and the disabled, according to human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe.
The Strasbourg-based outfit, which has 47 countries as members throughout Europe and including Russia, sent commissioner Nils Muiznieks, originally from Latvia, to carry out a fact-finding mission in Spain recently.
Visits to Sevilla and Madrid revealed widespread malnutrition among children and second-rate education, as well as disabled kids being put in mainstream classes with no extra help, meaning they were effectively learning nothing.
With unemployment at 26.3 per cent as at the end of June – down from the previous 27.2 per cent, the highest in history, because of the start of the tourism season and the temporary jobs which come with it – millions of parents across the country cannot afford to feed their children enough to keep them healthy.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com