Children in Serbia are being held in institutions

1,400 children with disabilities have been placed in five residential institutions in Serbia. None of these is exclusively for children. Find out what we're doing about it.

Wednesday 21 November 2007

Experts estimate that there are as many as 100,000 children with disabilities in Serbia. The exact figure isn't known as there are no comprehensive official registers.

Only up to 10-15% of them get targeted professional services. Between 50 and 80% never go to school at all, and 99% never attend any kind of preschool education. Unknown numbers of children spend their lives never leaving home.

On his latest visit to one of the special institutions in Stamnica, Save the Children UK Programme Director in south east Europe, Tim Bainbridge, said "The rooms are nicely painted, but it's still an institution housing both young children and adults. It's isolated and remote. What does this say about society's stance towards people with special needs?"

Save the Children welcomes the government's decision to start an investigation into allegations about the conditions in the institutions for people with special needs in Serbia, and to share the report.


What we're doing


  • Save the Children is advocating for the closure of these institutions. They discriminate against children with disabilities and deny many their human rights. They deprive children of parental care, social and mental development, and education.

  • We're supporting the government to reform its care systems and close the institutions. Family-based care is in children's best interests. We're therefore calling on the government to develop alternative, community-based care for children with special needs.

  • We've been invited to join the government team that's planning the transformation of residential institutions into other forms of support. In a meeting with the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Rasim Ljajic, on 21 November 2007, Save the Children's Tim Bainbridge welcomed and accepted the invitation, stressing that planning with a clear timetable of actions and achievements was of crucial importance.

"Save the Children is experienced in supporting such a change process, but political will to implement the reform is the most important prerequisite for success," he said. He also pointed out that one of the priorities should be effective 'gate-keeping', so that fewer children with disabilities are placed in institutions.

We work for the deinstitutionalisation of children, and believe in an inclusive approach that provides services for all children, regardless of their background. Over the past ten years, more than 70,000 children have benefited from our programmes - children with and without disabilities, Roma children, and  those who are poor or who have been exposed to abuse or violence.

Our main focus is breaking the isolation of children with disabilities and promoting equal opportunities. In the past decade we've supported the opening of 30 Community-based Rehabilitation Centres and supported associations of parents of children with disabilities. Since 2006, 300 children and their families have benefited from these services. 

Within the EU-funded Special Care for Special Needs long-term project, we promote deinstitutionalisation and family-based models of care. We focus on getting children out of institutions, and improving their quality of life and developmental opportunities. Through specialised foster care services with continuous community support, we're supporting  400 children with special needs.  

How you can get involved

We're working flat out to get every child their rights and we're determined to make further, faster changes. We'd like you to get involved too.

To support our work make a donation online or by calling 0800 8 148 148. 

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