Consolidating the implementation of a comprehensive policy for children and adolescents

by María Josefina Arce

The Third Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba, in its Tenth Legislature, continues in Havana its debates on important aspects of national events, after several days of in-depth analysis by the working commissions of the legislative body.

The issues that the legislators examined with a critical eye were vital to the well-being of the entire population. For this reason, the implementation of the Integral Policy for the Attention of Children, Adolescents and Young People, approved by the current legislature last July, could not be left out.

As has been emphasized, this strategy responds to the importance that the Cuban State attaches to the full development of this important sector, a strategic actor in the progress of the nation.

However, the existing mechanisms and opportunities at the local level have not yet been fully exploited, as evidenced by the visits of parliamentarians to 24 municipalities in the country.

It was reported that more than 100 centers were visited and a dialogue was held with 5,000 citizens, including 3,598 under the age of 30, to hear their opinions on the implementation of this strategy, which was designed with the participation not only of experts but also of children and young people, to whom it is ultimately addressed.

It should be recalled that, through questionnaires and forums, this sector of the population has expressed its criteria and concerns about the aspects to be taken into account in the design of the line, without losing sight of the complex situation that the country is going through.

Any action, it was stressed during the debates, must take into account the different scenarios, whether family or community, in order to guarantee their social inclusion in an equitable manner; it is also necessary to work so that children and adolescents know this policy in depth and feel part of it, since it was noted that its benefits are still not clear to many.

Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Perdomo emphasized that the results of this strategy must be reflected in results in education, training options, work and dreams of these young people and how they can materialize them in the country.

The top management maintains a systematic analysis of this comprehensive policy, which consolidates and deepens everything done by the Revolution in favor of the rights of this sector of society and shows its commitment to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals, which include priorities and programmatic proposals aimed at children, adolescents and youth.