Nearly 2000 babies were abandoned in Bulgaria during 2014, the main reasons being poverty and problems in education.

This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports and former director of the State Agency for Child Protection Kalin Kamenov in an interview for private NOVA TV station.

Kamenov pointed to problems in education and early school drop-out as some of the main reasons for the abandonment of the newborn babies.

The Deputy Minister listed poverty and unwanted pregnancy as constituting some of the other factors.

Kamenov insisted on the employment of health mediators who should be working on site to prevent this trend.

The psychologist Elka Nalbantova revealed that it was a common practice for Roma mothers to abandon their newborns at the maternity wards with the excuse that they have to look after their other children.

According to Nalbantova, there should be greater medical presence in the Roma neighbourhoods, as the majority of the mothers revealed that their pregnancy went unattended by a doctor.

She insisted that child benefits should be linked to the education of the children and the cares pertaining to them.

Nalbantova said that the reform has begun, but it was at its very early stage of development.

It became clear that 8 homes for children deprived of parental care are to be closed during the year.

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