Bulgaria will continue supporting the mission of UNICEF for the replacement the specialized institutions for bringing up children with the establishment of a network of services which will make it possible for them to grow up in an environment close to the family environment, President Rosen Plevneliev said at a meeting held with Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF. The Head of State reiterated Bulgaria’s position on closing down the specialized institutions for children by 2025.
“The children’s early development is of key importance for their normal development and therefore it is particularly important that the children live in an environment in which they feel emotionally happy. Only the family can ensure love,” the executive director of UNICEF said. Anthony Lake thanked the Bulgarian Head of State for his commitment to the activity of the Organization and for the conference held under his auspices in November 2012 in Sofia titled “Stopping the accommodation of children aged below three in institutions.”
Creating conditions for disabled children to live worthy lives in a family environment is an extremely difficult process and the solution of this problem lies at the basis of ensuring deinstitutionalization, it was further highlighted at the meeting.
Our country will soon sign the Partnership Agreement with the European Commission covering the period 2014-2020 and through the tools of European solidarity Bulgaria will be provided additional opportunities for integration and social inclusion of the children refugees, the representatives of the ethnic minorities and the children deprived of parental care.
“We are ready to share our experience in the process of deinstitutionalization with other Southeast European countries,” President Plevneliev emphasized. The Head of State invited the executive director of UNICEF to visit our country in 2015 and to get acquainted with Bulgaria’s achievements.