The  programme to combat child poverty came to life due to the growing poverty and inequalities (especially of children) after the democratic transition in Hungary. The problem had got more and more publicity and the EU had started to draw more attention to the poverty issue and the necessity of reducing child poverty. In response to the aforementioned situation, following the prime minister’s request, Zs. Ferge (Hungarian academician) established POCCP (Program Office to Combat Child Poverty) in 2005, which – along with several NGOs- elaborated the main areas of the National Programme to Combat Child Poverty.

The main objectives of the programme:

• to reduce the proportion of children and families who live in poverty to a fraction of the current level in one generation
• to eliminate the exclusion of children and extreme forms of deep poverty
• to re-shape the current mechanisms and institutions which reproduce poverty and exclusion;  enhance the quality and accessibility of services from an early age

A national strategy „Making Things Better for Our Children” (based on the programme) has been developed by the government of Hungary, and was approved almost unanimously by the Parliament in 2007.

After having incorporated the experiences of the Szécsény micro-region experimental application, a total of 23 disadvantaged areas in Hungary were able to start their complex subregional programmes in 2010, in order to reduce child poverty and enhance children’s opportunities through innovative solutions focusing on local problems. Implementation of the subregional programmes were then supported by the SROP 5.2.1 flagship programme. Since 2016 the project has been carried out within the framework of HRDOP 1.4.1.