During an event at the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, which was attended by Peter Grohmman, United Nations Resident Coordinator; Nuria Fernández, Director of the DIF System; Rocío García, Undersecretary of Welfare; Martha Hernández, Undersecretary of Basic Education; Oliver Castañeda, Federal Attorney for the Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents; Carlos Brito, Director of Canal Once, and Fernando Carrera, Representative of UNICEF in Mexico, among other representatives of the government, civil society and international organizations, the organization highlighted the importance of eliminating poverty among the child and adolescent population at the national level, as well as as the crucial role that education plays in that sense.
Fernando Carrera Castro, UNICEF Representative in the country, said: “Mexico faces a key moment in its development and if this report shows anything, it is that the economic expansion at the national level in 2021 was accompanied, unfortunately, by an increase in the vulnerability of the childhood and adolescence in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, which summarizes the knowledge collected by UNICEF about the situation of girls, boys and adolescents in Mexico during 2021, as well as the organization’s main interventions in health, education, equality and protection of children and adolescents at the national level , shows that, during that year, households with minor members:
- They continued to have lower income than they received before the pandemic;
- They continued to have difficulties in accessing and consuming healthy foods;
- evidenced symptoms and behaviors associated with deterioration of mental health, and
- They faced serious challenges to ensure the continuation of studies and learning of children and adolescents due to associated expenses, fear of contagion in school environments, and delays in the reopening of schools. (ENCOVID 19)
On the other hand, the confinement linked to the pandemic leads to an increase in domestic violence crimes: 5.3% in 2020 compared to 2019. (CNPJE 2021)
In addition to the main effects resulting from the pandemic, children and adolescents in Mexico present a deteriorated situation with multiple challenges that compromise their full development and that of society:
- higher levels of poverty than other population groups (52.6% among the population aged 0 to 17 and 43.9% among those aged 18 and over). In other words, one in every two children or adolescents lives in poverty: close to 19.5 million (CONEVAL, 2020);
- worrying prevalence of chronic malnutrition among children under five years of age (13.9%), of anemia among those aged one to four years (32.5%) and of overweight and obesity (38.5% among those aged 6 to 11 years and 43.8% among the population between 12 and 19 years old), all of which have serious consequences for health (ENSANUT 2020), and
- potential increase in learning gaps and school dropouts, particularly in the most vulnerable populations, for example, those belonging to indigenous communities as a result of prolonged school closures.
Given the important implications of this situation, during 2021 UNICEF focused its efforts on supporting actions by the Mexican authorities linked to:
- strengthen and expand social protection at federal and subnational levels, with a strong emphasis on gathering knowledge about the degree and type of poverty experienced by girls, boys and adolescents in Mexico, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on households;
- prevent, treat and reduce all forms of poor nutrition through strengthening the quality of care offered by health services at primary and community levels, as well as the development and promotion of healthy food environments, including technical cooperation to modify frameworks national and state regulations;
- increase access to health services linked to good nutrition, and improve maternal and child health;
- promote the safe and healthy return to in-person classes, advocating for the right to education of 25.4 million girls, boys and adolescents, and developing initiatives aimed at reducing the negative impacts of the pandemic on education;
- strengthen technical capacities at the federal, state and municipal levels in terms of child/adolescent protection and the provision of related services, in addition to increasing the capacity to prevent violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of children and adolescents, and avoid family separation;
- support state and municipal efforts linked to water and sanitation provision, child protection, educational inclusion, family reunification, health, nutrition, and technical cooperation with local authorities;
- improve alternative care options for children and adolescents who require it, through foster care programs in homes instead of institutions, and
- guarantee compliance with the rights of girls, boys and adolescents in situations of mobility regardless of where they come from or where they are going.