Baby dowry scheme in force

The Labour Ministry on Friday announced the start of the ‘baby dowry’ scheme, aimed at helping low income families secure the necessities for their newborns.
The package of the scheme will include basic consumer goods, like equipment, bedding, diapers and hygiene and baby-care items of total value €1,649.
In a statement, the ministry said the scheme will be available from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2023, aiming to “reduce material deprivation and tackle the risk of social exclusion for families in scope, through the provision of designated basic consumer goods for free, as well as through pursuing supplementary measures relating to guidance and networking with relevant state services”.
In scope are families with a child or children born after January 1, 2017, who are eligible for the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) scheme or are recipients of state welfare benefits, or who face extraordinary problems according to a report by the state’s Social Services.
Interested parties may receive applications for the scheme from district Social Services offices or the Labour Ministry’s webpage www.mlsi.gov.cy.
Applications can be submitted at district Social Welfare Services.
The scheme has a budget of €3.6 million and is co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union through the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD).
Announcing cabinet approval of the scheme in April, Labour minister Zeta Emilianidou said that the dowry would include among other things, a pram, a cot, a baby chair, and nappies for 24 months, while families would also be given a monthly allowance for the purchase of baby food.

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