Regional Secretary for Health and Social Security highlights effective actions to fight poverty in the Azores - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Segurança Social

The Regional Secretary for Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, stressed today at the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores that the latest data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) confirm positive developments in the Autonomous Region of the Azores in the fight against poverty, contradicting narratives undermining the results achieved.

"It is now a fact that the Autonomous Region of the Azores is no longer the poorest region in the country since the surveys on the poverty risk rate have been conducted," the government official emphasised, noting that the Regional Government is available to promptly respond to the persisting challenges.

The Regional Secretary pointed out that this improvement is a direct result of the social policies implemented by the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition governments, which have consistently stepped up support for families and citizens in the most vulnerable situations.

"Social transfers have always existed, but they were previously insufficient. Today, they play a key role in creating a real safety net and have been instrumental in helping to raise the Azoreans out of poverty," she said.

Among the most vulnerable groups, Mónica Seidi clearly identified children and the elderly as priority age groups in the definition of public policies, listing some measures such as the annual increase above inflation in the Family Allowance Supplement and the increases in the Regional Pension Supplement.

The government official also stressed that the Regional Strategy to Fight Poverty has not been neglected, remaining in force and coordinated with European funding instruments, namely the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). Under this strategy, for example, specific study support units have been implemented for children in situations of greater vulnerability in the elementary and middle school levels, a measure that has already benefited 900 children, with clearly positive results.

At a strategy level, Mónica Seidi also highlighted the Regional Plan for Social Inclusion and Citizenship (PRISC), which includes 22 specific measures, with some already being implemented. These include the SER+ programme and the digitisation of the health sector as a way of improving accessibility to regional health services.

Regarding food support, the Regional Secretary clarified that it is defined in accordance with European guidelines. It is allocated via a card with an available credit limit, through the participation of commercial establishments, ensuring transparency and dignity while avoiding overlapping support, which must be supervised by the Institute for Social Security of the Azores (ISSA).

The Regional Secretary also noted that the measures already implemented have been implemented and achieved success at a "quite acceptable" level, recalling that reducing poverty by 40% is one of the key goals of PRIS

"Based on the data available, we can say that the goals set for 2025 and 2026 have already been achieved. Nonetheless, we will not be blinded by this progress and will continue to support the most vulnerable and those in need to ensure a sustained downward trend in the poverty risk rate," concluded Mónica Seidi.