Argentina, UNICEF team up to extend welfare programs for children, pregnant women

Argentina and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have signed an agreement which will see the UN body help Buenos Aires to extend social welfare programs to one million children in vulnerable situations, local media reported Wednesday.

The first program is the Universal Allocation per Child, which provides 966 pesos (65 U.S. dollars) a month to over 2 million families, covering 3.7 million children.

The Pregnancy Allocation, worth the same monthly amount, will also be extended with more cover to be provided to pregnant women.

Finally, the Equal Connection program will seek to close the digital gap and improve IT education in schools through the delivery of laptop computers and the creation of virtual classrooms.

Argentine Minister of Social Development Carolina Stanley and the country's representative for UNICEF Florence Bauer attended the signing ceremony on Tuesday.

"We will seek to reach each boy and girl in Argentina...as the rights that all boys and girls have mean they must be taken care of throughout their development," said Stanley. "Our objective is for children to grow up healthy, with good nutrition and a good relationship with their parents."

Bauer added that UNICEF "will provide all its technical assistance to the start of this agreement, so that each investment...brings multiple returns in terms of development, health and education." Endit