The global economic crisis has hit Serbia hard, closing down factories and small businesses and driving people out of work. Unemployment has pushed once middle-classed families to the edge of poverty because they often have to take out loans or sell off assets in order to survive. The rural poor have become even more impoverished and vulnerable. Topics such as HIV and AIDS and child protection are taboo in Serbia and there is still a great deal of misunderstanding and stigma associated with disability, which keeps many people – particularly children with disabilities – hidden away at home where they are deprived of the opportunity for education and rehabilitation.
