The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published this Wednesday (21) an open letter to candidates for the 2024 municipal elections. The main request is that everyone makes commitments to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents, using the Statute of Children and Adolescents (ECA) as a reference.
“Focusing on children and adolescents does not mean limiting the political agenda. On the contrary: taking a special look at childhood and adolescence is an opportunity for candidates and parties to propose actions with real potential for transformation, guaranteeing rights not only for today’s girls and boys, but for the entire population and future generations,” highlights one of the excerpts from the open letter.
UNICEF focuses on five priorities: protection against violence; climate resilience; health and nutrition; education; and social protection. And reports that website of the institution guides how the candidates’ campaign can take a position on these issues. The request is for them to make commitments and, if elected, ensure that they are implemented through investments and public policies.
The institution provides more details about each of them. Regarding the first, it reports that more than 15,000 children and adolescents up to the age of 19 died violently in the country between 2021 and 2023. The fund asks that candidates for municipal office invest in concrete and multisectoral actions to prevent, identify, refer and monitor cases of violence, in its different manifestations.
Regarding the climate resilience of municipalities, UNICEF points out that heat waves, floods, droughts and inundations pose risks to 40 million children and adolescents, especially with regard to their health and development. In this sense, measures to anticipate changes and partnerships with communities are recommended paths.
In the education topic, school dropout rates and literacy rates are highlighted. In 2023, 44% of Brazilian children were not literate at the expected age. Investments and actions are called for to guarantee universal access to school and promote quality education, especially in early childhood education and elementary education.
In terms of health, it is recommended that the focus be on ensuring universal immunization and combating malnutrition from early childhood. In 2023, more than 100,000 children in Brazil had not received any dose of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP).
Regarding social protection, the focus is on actions aimed at the most vulnerable in the design of municipal policies. The deprivation of one or more rights affects 60.3% of children in the country and places them in so-called multidimensional poverty.
