Zoltán Kovács, Minister of State for Social Inclusion at the Ministry of Human Resources said at the opening event of the programmes held on Thursday in Budapest that the objective is to channel resources and opportunities to those most in need with maximum effectiveness, with a view to ensuring the attainment of maximum benefits.

He stated that the programmes to be implemented under the auspices of the EEA and the Norway Fund will represent pioneering initiatives which will prepare the ground for and supplement government interventions.

As regards the area of national health care, the Minister of State said that, for instance, in the eastern part of Hungary, the availability of infrastructure and human resources is a simultaneous challenge, and access to services and the quality of services in certain micro-regions and regions determine children's opportunities from the moment they are born.

Zoltán Kovács said that the Government and the individuals living in these regions have a fundamental interest in the most extensive possible availability of these services.

The Minister of State mentioned in the context of programmes assisting the inclusion of children and young people at risk, that Roma girls and women are the most disadvantaged among the under-privileged. The programmes to be launched next year will hopefully reduce early school-leaving and will simultaneously provide assistance with an impact on the quality of life and lifestyle choices.

Arild Moberg Sande, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway said that the most vulnerable groups, including the Roma, the physically and mentally handicapped and social groups which have no or virtually no access to the labour market, are the primary target groups of the aid offered.

The Norwegian diplomat underlined that the goal is to provide equal opportunities for these groups in access to basic services.

From the total aid worth some HUF 40 billion made available to Hungary by the donor countries of the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, HUF 5.9 billion is earmarked for the programme area of national healthcare and HUF 3.9 billion will be allocated to the area concerned with helping children and young people at risk by 2016.

Source: State Secretariat for Social Inclusion