| | |  Editorials | Issues | September 2008 
Mexican Government Makes Firm Commitment to Latin American Children
 Presidencia de la República
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| | Three-year-old Antonio, who has the weight of a 6-month-old baby, is being treated at a health center for malnourished children. Guatemala has the hightest rate of malnutrition in Latin America. (Patrick Farrell/Miami Herald) | | |
President Felipe Calderón declared Mexico's firm commitment to working for the good of Latin American children, in conjunction with Fundación Alas and all the governments in the region.
"For me, the point of governing and of any action in public policy is to think that you are working for a bosses who are small children under the ages of five and six, who are those who have brought us here together," he declared.
President Calderón said that his government is particularly interested in social policies to improve children’s lives, adding that many of the social programs currently underway are designed for them, which has significantly reducing child mortality and malnutrition in Mexico.
"We call them ´Programs for a New Generation´" he said during the Round Table on "The Children of Latin America: A Future without Poverty," organized by Fundación Alas, singers Shakira and Alejandro Sanz and The Earth Institute at the University of Colombia.
In addition to the Mexican president, the meeting was attended by Presidents of El Salvador, Elías Antonio Saca; Argentina, Cristina Fernández; Panamá, Martín Torrijos, and Paraguay, Fernando Lugo, to discuss the importance of implementing early child development programs in Latin America as well as educating, feeding and looking after children ages 0 to 6.
President Calderón said that his government has programs such as Oportunidades, targeting the country's five million poorest families, which consists of direct money transfers of an average of $70 USD and sometimes up to $200 USD a month, depending on the number of children at school, who also receive health care.
According to data from the Oportunidades Program, between 1998 and 2006, the proportion of low-weight children under the age of five fell from14% to 5% during this period. He added that children that are the beneficiaries of the Oportunidades program are approximately one size larger than other children living in poverty.
The President also mentioned the Medical Insurance for a New Generation and Health Pregnancy Programs. The former guarantees a doctor, medicine and treatment throughout the lives of all the children born in Mexico from December 1 2006 onwards, while the latter guarantees medical care for expectant mothers during pregnancy and childbirth.
In the morning, the President took part in the Summit on the Growth and Prosperity in the Americas Initiative, organized by U.S. President, George W. Bush.
During this meeting, President Calderón stressed the importance of countries in the region being able to continue strengthening the scaffolding of fair, free trade, which will enable them to continue reducing social inequalities and fostering economic growth. |
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