Mortality among children under 5 years of age is also high; more recent statistics put the number of those who die at around 6,000 per year
Although there is progress in the country in childcare, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) called for redoubled efforts to reduce the statistics of mortality, violence and exclusion suffered by thousands of children.
The call for attention is the purpose that on Saturday 20 of this month World Children’s Day was commemorated and Unicef invited the entire Dominican society to mobilize for the fulfillment of the rights of children and adolescents; without distinction of age, sex, race, religion, nationality or poverty situation of their families.
He cites that some of the most complex situations reflected in the most recent statistics are that 11 babies under one month of age die every day, 8 of them from preventable causes; 6,065 children die before their fifth birthday.
Also that more than 130,000 children under 5 years of age do not have a birth registration and that 23% of children with a motor, hearing or visual disability do not go to school, the figure increases including cognitive disability.
Unicef also refers to problems that affect young people and adolescents, such as that 46,434 people between the ages of 20 and 24 had a child before the age of 15. In addition, 49% of adolescents with primary education have already had a child before the age of 18 and that 40,222 girls under the age of 15 are already in early unions.
Another alarming fact is that 32% of those under 18 were already in early unions, a figure that rises to 65% in households with little or no education. It adds that 61% of girls and adolescents have suffered sexual violence at some point in their lives and in 2020 there were 5,947 reports of child sexual violence online.
Protection.
“We celebrate the progress made by the country for the benefit of children, but there is still much to do, and we want to remember those children who suffer the most, and who have less access to their rights, seeking to raise awareness in public and private institutions , as well as the public on the importance of continuing to work for their well-being and development, “said Dr. Rosa Elcarte, representative of Unicef.
He emphasized that “statistics offer global figures on the conditions in which childhood is found, but we must also inquire into the data of those children who are lagging behind, and it is in their names that we ask the whole of society to join in to our call so that their rights are always protected, respected and defended ”.
Through the “Support my rights” campaign, Unicef urges the population to give special support to children and adolescents, with emphasis on those who live with fewer possibilities and resources.
Unicef advocates for the defense of the rights of children and adolescents
With an emphasis on those who live with fewer possibilities
