Government reinforces investment in early childhood and provides Menstrual Hygienic Basket
Starting in 2026, the Ministry of Social Development will grant 30,945 children under 4 years of age and pregnant women a 50% increase in the value of the Parenting Bonus for households with the Uruguay Social Card (TUS) with a duplicate monetary transfer, and 25% for those who have the TUS with a simple amount. The announcement was made by Minister Gonzalo Civila, who also reported on the benefit for purchases of menstrual hygiene products, in principle, to those who access the double TUS.
The Minister of Social Development (MIDES), Gonzalo Civila, and the national director of Transfers and Data Analysis, Juan Martín Fernández, presented the increases in transfers and the incorporations of benefits planned for the social benefits of the Uruguay Social Card, starting in 2026.
In this framework, Civila announced the creation of the Menstrual Hygiene Basket, which will be carried out through a monetary transfer of 1,200 pesos annually, granted monthly.
In principle, it is intended for 82,806 people, aged 12 to 50, distributed among 44,511 TUS beneficiary households with a duplicate fund. Starting in 2029, those who have the simple TUS will be incorporated, with which coverage will reach 140,000 beneficiaries of the card.
On another note, the minister recalled that the National Disability Institute has been in operation since January, provided in the Government’s programmatic framework. As he explained at the press conference at the headquarters of the state portfolio, the objective is the prioritization of disability and care policies, which he considered “very linked to each other.”
GOVERNMENT WILL DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF THE CRIANZA BONUS
Fernández, for his part, reported that the Bono Crianza, intended to reinforce the income of the most vulnerable households, with pregnant women and children under 4 years of age, will receive a 50% increase for 16,326 beneficiaries of double TUS – intended for the most vulnerable population -, which will reach 3,339 pesos per month per person starting this year.
As for the households that receive the simple TUS, some 14,619 beneficiaries, the increase will be 25% from 2026, with about 2,783 pesos per month per beneficiary, and 50% from 2028.
Civila announced that this Friday, January 16, 100% of the announced transfers will have been reached.
Likewise, he explained that, when making decisions in harmony with the Budget, in the case of the Parenting Bonus, a more equitable distribution was used between double and simple SUD and, in the case of the Menstrual Hygiene Basket, it was prioritized in households with double SUD, because in this group there is a greater presence of women of reproductive age and minors in more vulnerable homes.
