A third of Sardinians are at risk of poverty or social exclusion and almost 7% of the island population is in a condition of "severe material and social deprivation".
This is the worrying data that emerges from the re-elaboration made by the National Association of the Elderly and Pensioners of Confartigianato Sardegna , based on ISTAT 2022-2023 data, which also highlights a generalized reduction in real incomes due to inflation.
According to the study, 32.9% of the population of Sardinia in 2023 was at risk of poverty or social exclusion, a value down compared to 36.4% in 2022 but, in any case, much higher than the national average went from 24.4% in 2022 to 22.8% in the past year in the same period.
«The analysis of Sardinians in conditions of serious material and social deprivation – explains Confartigianato Sardegna – is also alarming: in 2023 they stood at 6.9%, up compared to 6.7% in 2022 and above the national average of 4 ,7%. Despite the increase in prices, the share of the island population at risk of poverty fell to 29% in 2023 compared to 30.8% the previous year. In any case, 17.1% of Sardinian families live with low work intensity compared to 20.1% the previous year".
«These are numbers that make us shudder because they tell us how a third of the Sardinian population has to deal, on a daily basis, with the difficulty of consuming decent meals, taking care of themselves, having decent homes and getting educated or how they have to deal with poverty» , comments Giovanni Mellino, Regional President of ANAP Confartigianato Sardinia.
«There are people behind these cold numbers elderly and pensioners with minimal incomes, unemployed and poor workers, single-income families and former employed people who have been expelled from the world of work but also all those who have lost hope of finding a dignified job to - continues - Mellino - that is, all those weak groups who, with inflation and the subsequent crises, have lost their spending capacity".
ANAP Sardinia also highlights the data on pensions on the island, the total of which amounts to 8.4 billion, of which 5.4 billion for old age, equal to 30% of the amount of consumption expenditure incurred by families in a year sardines.
There are currently 267 thousand Sardinian old-age pensioners with an amount of 5 and a half billion euros, equivalent to an average amount of 19 thousand euros per capita.
«The increase in poverty among the elderly and pensioners is a worrying phenomenon that requires the urgent attention of society and institutions – underlines Mellino – those who have contributed for decades to the construction of our communities should be able to enjoy a dignified and safe. However, too often, we are faced with a reality in which many of them struggle to meet basic needs such as food, shelter and healthcare."
«Tackling poverty among the weakest groups is not only a question of social justice, but also of collective responsibility and investment in the future of our societies – concludes the President of ANAP Sardinia – for this reason we must work together to guarantee that every human being may grow old with dignity, security and respect."
(Unioneonline)
