When you ask the children what their favorite day is, the one they look forward to for a whole year, His answer is – with the permission of the Three Kings Day – always the same: the day of his birthday. You can do the test with those at home and you will see.
What most boys and girls don’t know is that apart from their birthday they already have one day – the same for everyone around the world – in common. Every November 20 is the day of childhood, And although it may seem like any other Saturday this 2021, without garlands or candles to blow out, it is the day that is remembered and the recognition of children’s rights is celebrated: inalienable and –in theory– invulnerable.
At UNICEF we work, every day of the year, so that each November 20 that the party arrives, it is more popular. May more friends and acquaintances sign up, and may they never fail. May it always be celebrated. Last year we did it, in the distance and behind the masks, and this year we can make it a little closer thanks to vaccines. These small solutions – because they fit in the palm of your hand – but powerful – because they save lives.
The equitable distribution of vaccines against covid-19 has been one of our priorities in these last 365 days. We have done this through the COVAX mechanism, an unprecedented logistics and health operation led by Gavi and WHO, which works to that vaccination is not a privilege of rich countries. A difficult mechanism and not without difficulties that is gradually reaching its objectives: at the moment, more than 500 million doses of vaccines have already been distributed in countries with medium or low incomes.
In the last year there has been much talk about the mental health of children and adolescents, also punished by the pandemic. In fact, the State of the World’s Children – our flagship annual report – has put the spotlight on and presents such worrisome conclusions as more than 13% of adolescents in the world between 10 and 19 years have a mental health problem. That children and adolescents enjoy good mental health is a right, which is included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and as such a holistic approach is necessary –Not just medical– and more public policies are needed to achieve compliance.
It was also the year of the boom in screens, meetings ‘online’ and teleworking. Digitization had already made a place in our home and in our lives and now, with the aggravation of the pandemic, it is time to take stock to know if what weighs the most are the opportunities or the challenges. For this reason, UNICEF Spain has just published a pioneering report in our country and Europe that refers to it and the conclusions, after surveying 50,000 young people, They make you reflect. One in three adolescents makes problematic use of the internet and social networks. There is also concern about the erotic or sexual content that almost half of the young people with whom we have spoken claim to have received through networks, chats or video games. in addition online gambling and discussions disturb that the use of technology causes in homes.
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It is clear that the arrival of the covid-19 has marked a historical turning point for everything and everyone, also for the rights of children. We are immersed in a crisis that presents us with numerous and serious challenges that impact above all – as is, unfortunately, usual – the most vulnerable. In fact, inequalities have become greater and more evident in environments of poverty, exclusion and social fracture.
So it is time to act globally but also locally. Reimagining the present and the future of childhood is urgent and unavoidable.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com