On the sidelines of the III Regional Forum to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion, organized by the EANP Regional Center – European Anti-Poverty Network, the JPP parliamentary group reinforced the importance of debating the eradication of poverty, which “not long ago was considered by many of our rulers a taboo topic”.
“Fortunately, and for the first time in Madeira, fundamental steps are being taken to understand this phenomenon that affects thousands of families, regardless of their employment situation, their training and their age”, stated deputy Lina Pereira.
Taking into account that Madeira is “the region with the highest rate of risk of poverty in the country: 1 in every 4 people in Madeira lives in a situation of risk of poverty”, the deputy lamented that there are “more and more families who have to choose between the supermarket, the pharmacy, the electricity bill, for example, to be able to pay the mortgage”.
For JPP, “the fight against poverty and social exclusion involves several sectors from health, education, housing, mobility, employment, justice, therefore, public policies must consider the transversality and multidimensionality of this problem . As long as poverty is considered a person’s problem, nothing will change”, stated Lina Pereira, exemplifying that “when a person is forced to resort to private health services because there is no response in public services, often postponing the payment of an expense fixed for the following month, it is the State itself, in this case, the Regional Government, that pushes this person, this user, into a situation of poverty”.
The parliamentarian recalled that in the Region “there are still those who live on much less than 500 euros per month”, “contrary to what has already been stated by the President of the Regional Government himself and those who do not know this do not know the true reality of families”.
“There are thousands of elderly people who live on very low pensions, making them one of the groups most vulnerable to poverty. The reinforcement of the pension supplement and the increase in the number of home helpers are examples of two measures that, for JPP, are fundamental and that must be implemented next year”, he said.
Finally, the party hopes that “the parliamentary majority, now with the support of the PAN, will accompany the JPP in these measures and allow more dignified conditions for our elderly”.