National Lottery spends over 1 million euros on projects to tackle child poverty

The National Lottery has distributed a total of 1,022,080 euros to 54 projects in the fight against child poverty, it announced on Thursday. The state owned company also launched a new call for projects around sustainable development.

The spending is the result of a project call launched by the National Lottery in February this year, the second in the fight against child poverty. In total, the National Lottery has donated some 3 million euros over the past two years to projects fighting poverty and child poverty.

A total of 75 organisations submitted a proposal in response to the new call for projects. A nine-member jury, with experts in combating child poverty, selected 54 projects from these - 28 French-speaking and 26 Dutch-speaking - which will each receive up to 25,000 euros to further develop their work to help people in poverty.

"These projects make a difference," said National Lottery CEO Jannie Haek. "I thank the jury as well as the National Lottery, an institution that has a positive impact on society."

Resigning federal minister of Fighting Poverty Karine Lalieux added that "not everyone has an equal start" in life. "We all have a moral responsibility to eradicate poverty as well as child poverty," she said.

"We all have a moral responsibility to eradicate poverty as well as child poverty"

The National Lottery also presented a new call for projects around sustainable development on Thursday, for a total of 1.5 million euros. Interested organisations can submit a project until the end of November.

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