Investment in childhood would improve development expectations in Latin America

invest in the childhoodsometimes with the help of the private sector, would considerably improve not only the living conditions of the children, but even the possibilities of Latin America out of underdevelopment, say officials from international organizations and business leaders.

“We know that investing in children, even more so if it is during the first years of life, contributes to economic development, prosperity and social cohesion in the region,” says the regional director of UNICEF for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Haitian Garry Conille, and in that sense “The private sector can be a key ally”add.

According to the Pan American Health Organization, in Latin America and the Caribbean, 255 babies die every day before reaching their first month of life, a risk that is 2.5 times higher than that in rich countries. On many occasions, the causes of deaths are preventable.

“Infant mortality, premature births and many diseases are directly related to the lack of access that many families have during pregnancy, birth and the first months of life to professionals and health centers, that is, to quality care” , underlines the president of Kimberly-Clark Latin America, Gonzalo Uribe.

Latin America “It is a region that needs joint efforts between organizations like Unicef ​​and companies like ours to generate an impact on society”, sUrib holdsand. “There is a lot of work to do, but we are optimistic”, Uribe stresses.

His company, Kimberly-Clark, a world leader in the manufacture of hygiene products, has been collaborating with Unicef ​​since 2019 and has now just renewed an alliance that will allocate US$ 5 million over the next two years to programs to improve conditions of childhood in the region.

The recipients of the aid are 4.5 million babies, their families, caregivers and health professionals through the distribution of diapers in fifteen countries in the region (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay).

The collaborating thread includes consumers, who, with their purchases, have contributed to this initiative that aims to ensure that more than 1.5 million babies and children grow up in a safer and more inclusive environment.

the first thousand days

According to experts, the first thousand days in the life of a human being are key, because it is a period in which the brain develops at a speed of more than a million new neural connections per second, and it is an opportunity for growth. This once-in-a-lifetime event creates the foundation for physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning.

When children are well nourished, protected from disease, neglect and abuse, receive loving and sensitive care, and are stimulated, they are more likely to grow up healthy and develop to their full potential.

On the contrary, those who lack these cares and stimuli tend to present low results in cognitive, language and psychosocial development, as well as in executive functions, which translates into lower academic performance in primary school and school dropout.

For this reason, among the programs of the United Nations agency are the Kangaroo Mother Method, the training of traditional midwives or the Parenting Portal (‘Parenting Hub’ Regional), covering many of those areas of care.

In the first phase of the alliance between Kimberly-Clark and Unicef, between 2019 and 2022, which was also carried out in fifteen countries, the company contributed US$7.2 million to Unicef’s regional programs aimed at developing the early childhood, from which 2.7 million children were benefited.

“Partnerships like the one we have with Kimberly-Clark allow Unicef ​​to show good practices and results in favor of children, and also inspire other potential allies to join our efforts”stressed the regional director of Unice, Garry Conille.

The UNICEF office for Latin America and the Caribbean adds “partners from the private sector so that, together with governments, they contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for early childhood”, stressed.

Source: EFE