Fighting Poverty and Inequality

1
Fighting Poverty and Inequality task of the
health- and welfare worker?

• Poverty and Inequality in the EU and its Impact
  on the social worker
• Input by Quinta Ansem

2
Content of the presentation

• A quick story about EAPN
• Being poor in the EU
• The effect on People Experience Poverty
• Equality versus Inequality
• The effect on health- and social workers
• Some questions to be answered

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EAPN Origins

• Established in 1990
• A network of independent NGOs
• Defending what?

4
EAPN Membership and Financing

• 26 National Networks
• 23 European Organisations
• financial support?

5
What do we know about Poverty in the EU?

• EU Poverty Programmes
• Social OMC
• Progress?

6
Poverty in the EU (2007)

• 60 of median equivalised income
• EU Average 17 (79 million people)
• 25 Romania (83 Euro)
• 10 Netherlands (910 Euro) 10 Czech Republic
  (271Euro)

7
In Work Poverty (2007)

• In work poverty rate
• EU Average 8 of working population (18 million
  people approx)
• 14 Greece (510 Euro)
• 3 Czech Republic (271 Euro)

8
Significant damp problems in housing

• EU Average 18
• 37 Poland
• 5 Malta and Finland

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Lack of indoor flushing toilet for sole use of
household

• EU Average 4 (18.5 million people)
• 44 Romania, 34 Bulgaria,
• 1 EU 15 (the old members of EU)
• 3 Slovakia

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Material Deprivation in the EU

• Basic necessities
• EU Average 17
• 45 in Latvia (Romania and Bulgaria higher)
• 3 in Luxembourg 6 Sweden and Netherlands
• 40 below poverty line but ..
• 13 above the poverty line

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People Experiencing Poverty (PEP)

• I am undocumented, so for you I dont exist
• waking up in bad housing conditions which saps
  the will to do anything
• being paid regularly, but my debts still
  mounting up anyway
• hard to talk about, but when I did start to talk
  to others I felt no different from them and I
  wasnt embarrassed

12
Social protection a cost or an investment?

• Social Spending reduces risk of poverty
• Increased expenditure on social protection

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Conclusion

• Effective Social protection systems not only
  reduce poverty, and increase security, but
  provide an essential platform for participation,
  and social cohesion as well as supporting growth.

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Trends in Inequality USA
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(No Transcript)
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Innovation
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Trust
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Mental Health
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Violence
http//www.equalitytrust.org.uk/why/evidence/rich-
and-poor-countries
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Wealth and Inequality in the EU

• EAPN Motto You cant speak about the fight
  against poverty and remain silent about wealth

21
Building Trust The role of Democracy

• More Equal Societies work better for Everyone
• The rich developed societies have reached a
  turning point in human history
• Politics should now be about the quality of
  social relations and how we can develop
  harmonious and sustainable societies
• And doing that in respect and support with those
  who need the respect and support the most.

22
The impact of inequality on the health- and
social workers

• Good intentions
• Increasingly numbers of poor
• matching mental and physical health
• Work Overload
• Little effects
• low salaries

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Area of tension

• Most Welfare- or Health worker is paid out of
  public money
• Policy changing's (political changes)
• Being subsidizes
• No (or little) cooperation with local government
• Only project finding
• No (real) participation from the PEP

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Question for the discussion

• Can the health- and welfare worker really make a
  difference in fighting poverty and social
  exclusion?
• Yes. or No?
• Changes?
• And how can the PEP be involved in this fight?

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The basis thinking of EAPN Netherlands
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Building Alliances for 2010