Children’s League sees Austria’s failures in implementing the constitutionally enshrined right to health for all children and formulates concrete recommendations.
Vienna (OTS) – The Austrian League for Child and Adolescent Health (Children’s League) is taking World Health Day on April 7th as an opportunity to draw attention to the deterioration in the quality of life of children and young people due to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic(1), through inflation and thus an increased risk of poverty, To point out fears for the future caused by the climate crisis, military conflicts and social tensions. The children’s league focuses on this year’s WHO motto “My health. My right.(2)”
According to the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All, more than 140 countries – including Austria – have enshrined health as a human right in their constitutions. However, many of these countries do not adopt or enforce laws guaranteeing the right of access to health services for the entire population.
Austria does not offer all children equal access to health services
According to experts from the Children’s League, this failure can also be seen in Austria, one of the richest and safest countries in the world. All children and young people in Austria fundamentally have the right to high-quality health services, equal education, healthy nutrition, good housing and sustainable environmental conditions in order to guarantee the best possible upbringing. Nevertheless, not all children and young people in Austria have the same access to health services financed by health insurance companies.
Many health insurance benefits are associated with waiting times lasting months. In recent years, private spending on health has risen somewhat faster than health spending as a whole. Therapy places for children and young people with complex issues such as rare and chronic illnesses, developmental delays or autism spectrum disorders are difficult or almost impossible to find. “Treatment for psychological problems, quick and free access to therapy places in speech therapy, occupational and physiotherapy, inpatient places in child and adolescent psychiatry, health insurance-financed visits to pediatricians and much more are denied to many children and young people in Austria
“, says Dr. Caroline Culen, managing director of the children’s league. The reasons for this are manifold: social inequality, low levels of education, urban-rural divides, but also unattractive working conditions and therefore too few staff.
The right to grow up healthy must apply to all children in Austria
The consequential costs of poverty, social inequality and low education for the health system are well known. Austria is a rich country with good social security, but many people are currently finding it difficult to cover their daily costs. “Regardless of their family situation, all children have the same right to grow up healthy. In a rich country like Austria, social framework conditions must be created that ensure that all children have the same opportunities
“, emphasizes Dr. Christoph Hackspiel, President of the Children’s League.
Children’s Ministry, Children’s Billion and other concrete demands from the Children’s League
The experts in the Children’s League network, which includes around 120 member organizations, would like to see increasing political and social awareness regarding the relevance of child and youth health1 in Austria. The specific demands of the Children’s League, in addition to the Children’s Ministry and the Children’s Billion, which have already been requested several times, are:
- Increase spending on child health
- Targeted measures against child poverty in order to counteract the isolation of families affected by poverty.
- Closing gaps in prevention and care
- Expand offerings for mentally stressed families
- Targeted investments in regions with a more disadvantageous starting position in the areas of education, employment, etc.
- Support and professional implementation of digital treatment paths
- Improving the data situation in the area of child and adolescent health
- Sustainable and secure financing of multifunctional centers and outpatient clinics
(1) . See. https://www.kinderjugendgesundheit.at/themenschwerpunkte/corona/
Questions & Contact:
Verena Bittner Call
presse@kinderjugengesundheit.at
+43 650 7101373