30 May 2003

:: NEWS ::

29 social institutions to be closed down by the end of the year

2002 news

Additional information about:

Bulgaria's social institutions for mentally disabled individuals

Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Christina Christova announced in Stara Zagora that 29 social institutions are to be closed down by the end of the year. The reasons are the extremely poor material conditions in these instituons. According to media reports the first institutions to be closed down are the ones in Fakia and Dragash Vojvoda. It has not yet been decided where exactly the men and children from these institutions will be placed.

In June 2002 the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy closed the institution in Sanadinovo after protests from Amnesty International and BHC about the appaling living conditions in the institution. The institution in Dragash Vojvoda was supposed to be closed by the end of the 2002, but it is still functioning and accomodates 70 men.

In an interview in the Capital weekly 2 weeks ago, Amnesty International researcher Ivan Fiser stated that: "At the moment we are witnessing a process of sending people from one institution to another institution, which has only marginally better living conditions. But we can hardly call this an improvement, because the new institution will have clean walls, but its staff will not have had any training and will not be in a condition to ensure the necessary level of care. ... I visited most of the men who were moved from Dragash Vojvoda and it would be hard to say that there has been any improvement for them apart the minimal change with respect to living conditions. And there are cases where the level of care has deteriorated."

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