LISBON, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The government of Portugal presented its new Action Plan under the National Strategy to Combat Poverty on Tuesday.
The plan includes over 270 measures ranging from investment in basic education to the allocation of 1.4 billion euros (1.47 billion U.S. dollars) to support access to housing.
The plan covers the period from 2022 to 2025 and its priority aim is to reduce poverty among children, young people and their families, and to ensure access to basic goods and services.
To promote healthy nutrition and nutritional status, the plan foresees the distribution of social cards for the purchase of food for 45,000 families.
Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a note published on the official website of the Presidency that the country cannot accept that nearly two million of its citizens live in poverty.
In a message marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the head of state said that Portugal has already taken "positive steps" in identifying the causes of poverty in the country.
According to him, the ambition now is to "eradicate" the problem "by 2030," warning of "new realities that have worsened the conditions of poverty, requiring new approaches and action models to combat it."
The action plan was presented on Tuesday following its approval last week by the Council of Ministers. (1 euro = 1.05 U.S. dollars)
