Childhood and adolescence, key in the National Development Plan 2025-2030

Girls, boys and adolescents must be a priority in the National Development Plan 2025-2030, as they represent 30 percent of the Mexican population.

According to the National System for the Comprehensive Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents (SIPINNA) of the Ministry of the Interior, it is essential to ensure - through public policies and increased budget - that children and youth in the country have their fundamental rights guaranteed.

With this in mind, SIPINNA and various civil society organizations, including Save the Children, submitted various proposals to strengthen the National Development Plan, which were obtained through consultation forums held in eight states of the country.

According to Lorena Villavicencio Ayala, Executive Secretary of the National System for the Comprehensive Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents, civil society and government agree on how to protect children and adolescents in Mexico.

“We have great similarities and the most important one, which is part of our main causes, is to make children and adolescents the central axis of public policy in this country. We are talking about 30 percent of the population and we are talking about a population that is essential to building a different future. If we really want to pacify the country, if we want to achieve a series of important development objectives for the country, we need to invest in childhood and also care for adolescence,” he stressed at a press conference.

The list of proposals to strengthen the National Development Plan and better serve Mexican children and adolescents includes eight specific actions.

These include ensuring universal access to health services, access to birth certificates and CURP; preventing and treating mental health problems and addictions; reducing poverty; creating safe environments that promote positive parenting and a culture of peace; improving mechanisms that protect them from violence; ensuring that they have real access to justice as well as to artistic and sporting activities; and strengthening the national policy aimed at early childhood.

When questioned about the levels of violence experienced by many minors in their homes, Lorena Villavicencio stressed that not all families in Mexico represent a risky environment for children and adolescents.

However, she admitted that according to statistics, 6 out of 10 children in Mexico have suffered some type of violence in their lives.

Families are therefore also co-responsible for this violence and it is essential to work with them, the official said.

“We need to work seriously with families, caregivers, and all those who are in charge of children. Yes, we need to establish a new way of relating based on respect, because normalizing blows has resulted in a society that also has a high dose of violence. We need to work in the homes, that is where violence originates, that is where it is normalized, and we cannot hide that, and this clearly shows us that the issue of violence is not only an issue of responsibility of governments, but is also an issue of co-responsibility of diverse families,” said Lorena Villavicencio.

The entities in which the “Republic of and for Children and Adolescents” consultation forums were held were Puebla, Morelos, Tlaxcala, Mexico City, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas and the State of Mexico.

The results of these transfers will also be used to design the National Program for the Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents (PRONAPINNA).

UNNIDO Foundation, Casa Alianza and Comprehensive Inclusion and Human Rights Services are some of the civil society organizations that are staggering and participated in the construction of the proposals released on Tuesday.