The research conducted by the research company Picodi from Hong Kong in 2023 brings alarming data about the living conditions of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Analyzing the basic survival basket containing milk, bread, rice, eggs, cheese, poultry and beef, and fruits and vegetables, it is clear that this modest assortment of food cannot meet even the minimum nutritional needs of an adult during the month. And for this monthly package, it is necessary to allocate 212 KM per month for one person.
Of course, these expenses should also include items such as electricity, heating, communal services, medicines, visits to the doctor, buying clothes, shoes… So it is quite clear that even the minimum wage, which is 900 KM in the RS, and 1000 KM in the FBiH from 1. in January is not nearly enough for a decent life.
However, it is only when you look at the situation faced by people with disabilities that it becomes alarming.
The basic basket for survival in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina exceeds the amount of their personal disability allowance! People with 90% disability receive only 148.56 KM, while those with 100% disability have 198.08 KM per month, which does not even allow them to meet basic life needs.
“Already now, children and people with disabilities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot even buy the food they need to survive for a month, because their only income is personal disability allowance. Financial compensation for other people’s care and assistance only enables the hiring of someone who would help them during their daily life”, they state in the Association of Citizens I Have the Right.
Daniela Zeljaja from Banja Luka, the mother of a girl with cerebral palsy, points out that these problems are present in all of BiH, without significant differences between the entities. It is devastating, as he says, that these are often the only incomes that entire families have. “Social policies are disastrous. There is no money for the most vulnerable, but there is always money for expensive cars, national teams, advisors and their advisors,” Daniela clearly points out.
These data clearly indicate the critical situation in which a large number of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina find themselves, especially those who depend on social benefits, and show the necessity of changes in social policy and better support for the weakest groups of society, writes NOISE.
