Romania faces child poverty, low vaccination and adolescent mental‑health crisis

A 2025 radiography by Save the Children shows that more than one‑third of Romanian children are at risk of poverty, with 32 % living in poverty or social exclusion. Families increasingly cannot afford a protein‑rich meal even once every two days, and infant mortality has risen to its highest level in a decade. Vaccination coverage is falling, with only 47.4 % of children receiving the first dose of the MMR vaccine. School attendance is slipping: over 425 000 children aged 7‑17 are out of education, and dropout rates are rising, especially in secondary schools.

A World Vision survey of 613 adolescents (15‑18) found that 30.8 % consider anxiety and emotional problems the biggest challenge, 20.2 % cite school pressure, and 45.7 % say exams and uncertainty about the future are their main stressors. Nearly a quarter say adults rarely listen to them. In response, a draft law under debate would allow 16‑year‑olds to access psychological counselling without parental consent.

These findings highlight a combined crisis of material deprivation, declining health protection and mental‑health strain among Romanian children and teenagers.