Over 1.4 million children and
adolescents, or 13.8% of all minors in Italy, are living in
absolute poverty, Save the Children said Thursday.
The number of children unable to access a basic selection
of goods rose by 34% between 2012 and 2013, the childrens' aid
agency added.
Child poverty grew most notably in southern regions, where
19.1% of minors were living in absolute poverty in 2013 compared
to 13.9% in 2012.
However the numbers also rose in northern and central
regions, where absolute poverty respectively now affects 11.2%
and 10.2% of children compared to 8.3% and 8.2% in 2012.
The number of children living in relative poverty also rose
by 13% to reach nearly 2.4 million - or 23% of the total - in
2013.
"If the latest figures concerning the number of children
living in absolute and relative poverty in Italy are cause for
alarm, then this is perhaps all the more true for the
observation that government interventions to combat the problem
have been deeply ineffective in recent years," said Save the
Children Italia Director-general Valerio Neri.
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