PM Citu: Romania comes with applied solutions for children in the context of the COVID pandemic

Romania is among the first countries in the world to come up with applied solutions for children, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, through the "Caring for Children" program, which will offer free psychological services, but also access to training and resources for specialists and parents to manage the psycho-emotional needs of the little ones, said Prime Minister Florin Citu, agerpres reports.

The prime minister said a draft emergency ordinance on the "Caring for Children" program would be adopted next week.

"I am pleased to announce that Romania is one of the first countries in the world to come up with applied solutions to children in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. The works of the committee for the drawing up of the National Child Support Program, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic 'Caring for children' have been finalized, and the emergency ordinance that will substantiate this program is to be adopted by the Government (...) I think next week. (...) It is a draft that I care about a lot and I am happy that we managed to have it in such a short time," Florin Citu told Tuesday's presentation event of the draft normative act for the implementation of the National Program "Caring for children".

The prime minister specified that the measures in this program are the result of dozens of meetings of the technical working groups that brought to the same table experts from public institutions and civil society, as well as representatives of parents and children.

"That is why I am confident that the draft is a very good one and will be a success. (...) I have said several times that the health of Romanians is a priority, and this program pays special attention. It is all the more important in the context we are in, the pandemic, the restrictions, the isolation, all these have affected the little ones, and the effects can extend in the medium and long term, which is why the program comes at a more than appropriate time. Children will have access to free psychological services where needed. On the other hand, specialists and parents will have access to training and resources to manage the psycho-emotional needs of children," Citu said.

The prime minister stressed that the program includes not only measures related to increasing the resilience of children, but also to increasing the capacity to intervene in cases of violence against children.

"We will have the latest solutions to fight online crime against children. Out of care for children, Romania will have a high-performance computer system, with cyber forensics programs for analyzing, sorting, profiling and decrypting abusive online materials. I think this dimension of the draft is very important, given that more and more children are familiar with the online environment, children must always be protected, everywhere," said Citu.