Every Last Child Country Spotlight: Northwest Balkans

Save the Children is campaigning at an international and national level to achieve the greatest impact for children with the Every Last Child Campaign.

An estimated 1 million Roma live in the Western Balkans. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, this population group remains the most vulnerable and disadvantaged minority. Many Roma children have never been enrolled in any form of education, have not been registered at birth or vaccinated, and the majority live in very bad conditions, with no access to clean water or sanitation.

Roma face discrimination every day in all aspects of life, while Romani females are subject to double discrimination. The number of unemployed Roma is high throughout the region and their access to the labor market is primarily hampered by the lack of suitable education and qualifications. For this reason, successful integration of Roma children in education is not only an important social inclusion issue, but also one with a significant economic impact.

Save The Children’s North-West Balkans national campaign will focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), with an aim to close the gap in educational opportunities for Roma children in BiH compared to the national average by increasing access to compulsory pre-school programs, leading to successful transition into primary education.

Read the full Every Last Child campaign report here.