Off the wire
• Former China civil aviation official expelled from Party, office  • 1st LD Writethru: 7 killed as blast hits check post in NW Pakistan  • 2nd LD-Writethru: Consumption contributes more to China's economic growth  • China, Middle East face historic opportunities in cooperation: People's Daily  • Brazil's oil giant stocks hit lowest level since 2003  • India to launch fifth navigational satellite Wednesday  • India puts forces on alert over threat from IS at Republic Day parade  • 2nd LD: China's growth hits 25-year low, within official target  • Venus Williams suffers shock upset at Australian Open  • Third seed Garbine Muguruza easily advances to Aus Open second round  
You are here: 　 Home

Mexico needs to invest in children under five, says UNICEF

Xinhua, January 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Mexico invests less in children under five years old, a crucial stage of growth, than other Latin American countries, an official with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Monday.

Isabel Crowley, the national representative of UNICEF, said her agency will seek to stress the importance of early development in 2016.

"We undertook a study with the UNDP (UN Development Program) three months ago that clearly states that this age period suffers from the greatest lack, not just of money, but also of information," Crowley told reporters.

UNICEF, she said, will be partnering with Fundacion Televisa, the charitable arm of the Mexican TV giant, to dispense practical advice for parents to stimulate their children's development.

The media campaign, called "Begin early, each moment counts," will recommend simple measures, such as games.

Alicia Lebrija, executive president of the foundation, said "as parents, we think that children don't learn until they start school, but by then we have missed the window of opportunity offered by those first years."

The campaign will rely on TV broadcasts, print media, social networks and even text messages via cellphones to reach the families of some 12.6 million children up to the age of five. Endi