The amount of maternity benefits in the territory of the Federation of BiH is very uneven, so unemployed mothers in some cantons receive 1,000 marks per month until the child reaches one year of age, and in others only 100.
The highest monthly allowances are given to them by Sarajevo, Bosnian-Podrinjski Goražde, Tuzla and Zenica-Doboj cantons. Certain cantons have introduced measures to help multi-member families, so the West Herzegovina Canton pays an allowance in the amount of 500 BAM per month for the third and every subsequent child in the family until the child turns seven.
Unemployed mothers in the Sarajevo Canton receive 996 marks per month for 12 months, and the family, provided that the right to child allowance is fulfilled, is also entitled to one-time assistance for the equipment of the newborn child – 375 BAM and additional monetary assistance for the child’s nutrition – 60 BAM (achieved six months after childbirth).
Canton of Sarajevo is the first canton that, with the Law on Social Protection, Protection of Civilian Victims of War and Protection of Families with Children, prescribed that children in families with three or more children have the right to child allowance, regardless of means.
An unemployed mother in the area of the Bosnian-Podrinje canton of Goražde is entitled to financial assistance in the monthly amount of 1000 BAM, which is paid until the newborn is 12 months old.
In addition, the woman in labor is entitled to one-time assistance for the equipment of the newborn child in the amount of 209.50 BAM.
In the Tuzla Canton, an unemployed mother giving birth receives 996 BAM per month, and this canton also pays a one-time financial aid for parents with three or more children together in the amount of 1500 BAM.
All mothers who are not employed in the Zenica-Doboj Canton are entitled to assistance in the amount of 1,000 BAM per month from birth until the child reaches one year of age. The cantonal law stipulates that a mother who gives birth to twins or triplets and each subsequent child receives a 20 percent increase in aid.
In the West Herzegovina Canton, the allowance for mothers who have given birth, women who are not employed, is 350 BAM per month for a period of 12 months after giving birth, and the mother also receives a one-time allowance for a newborn child in the amount of 500 BAM. Also, an allowance was introduced for the third and every subsequent child in the family in the amount of 500 BAM per month until the child turns seven.
Cash assistance to an unemployed mother in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton amounts to 400 BAM per month, and is paid for 12 months. The also receives a one-time financial aid for the equipment of the newborn child in the amount of 400 BAM.
Cash assistance for unemployed mothers in Una-Sana Canton amounts to 55 percent of the lowest salary in the Federation, which specifically amounts to 327.80 BAM and is paid for one year from the birth of the child.
Women who give birth outside of employment in the Central Bosnia Canton are entitled to monthly financial assistance in the amount of 55 percent of the lowest salary in the FBiH until the child reaches one year of age.
Unemployed mothers in the Posavina Canton are paid maternity allowance in the amount of 300 BAM per month for 12 months, and in Canton 10 this allowance is 100 BAM per month. Canton 10 also pays a one-time financial aid in the amount of 300 BAM.
In the protection of children and families, some of the unique measures were taken by the Canton of Sarajevo, in which it is possible to exercise the right to child allowance (without income tax) for children without one or both parents and for families in which one of the parents has a disability of at least 90 percent, which has a child with disabilities in physical or mental development, who has a child with cancer, diabetes, leukemia, TB, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, hepatitis B and C, epilepsy or a child with an autism spectrum disorder, one of whose parents is a beneficiary permanent cash assistance as well as a family with three or more children.
The unevenness and variation from canton to canton is also noticeable in the payment of other allowances and allowances for children and mothers, as well as in the conditions that need to be met in order to exercise some of these rights.
How much all this will affect the achievement of social security and the improvement of the demographic situation remains to be seen.
