In the social sphere, any stagnation must be seen as equating with setbacks, since it has irreparable effects. The most extreme cases are avoidable deaths, especially for children and adolescents.
There are two projects that are extremely serious in the current government, as they mean the death of hundreds of girls and boys, which could have been avoided had the available resources been allocated to guaranteeing the Constitution’s rights to this group of the population.
We recommend: Four reasons babies die
1. The case of infant mortality
Infant mortality is a concept that refers to the proportion of girls and boys who die before their first birthday per 1,000 live births. It’s a broad indicator of the overall state of life for children in a country, and in our country’s case, it’s arguably a dramatic indicator.
The current government has made little progress in reducing infant mortality in its five years in office, a stagnation caused by the previous administration, according to figures recently reported by the government. In fact, in 2013, the first year of Peña Nieto’s government, infant mortality (IMR) was 14.4, reaching a level of 12.9 per thousand deaths in 2018.
In comparison, the ratio grew to 13.1 in 2019; 12.3 in 2020; and again to 12.7 in 2020; and preliminary figures for 2022 and 2023 were 12.3 and 12.1, respectively.
2. Mortality within 5 years
Another area where the current government has seen serious and worrying stagnation is the death rate from diarrheal diseases among children under five. In this regard, the Fifth Presidential Report states that the indicator for this age group was 10.1 per 100,000 population in 2010, compared to 5.4 per 100,000 population in 2018 at the end of the six-year term.
On its own, the ratio grew to 6.6 in 2019; it fell to 6.2 in 2020; but it will grow again to 6.8 in 2021, with preliminary estimates reaching 6.6 in 2022 and 2023.
Likewise, in terms of mortality from nutritional deficiencies, this is the government that has made the least progress in recent decades. In fact, according to the government report itself, the cause-specified death rate for children under five was 5.2 in 2021, dropping to 2.8 in 2018. In contrast, it remained at the same level in 2019; 2.0 from 2020 to 2022, and an initial estimate of 1.8 in 2023, a figure that must be confirmed by the end of the year.
absolute number
In 2021, 19,319 boys and girls under the age of one will die in Mexico, according to INEGI. Of these, 513 were accident-related deaths from preventable and avoidable causes. 450 for influenza and pneumonia; 345 for enteric infectious diseases; 105 for malnutrition and other nutritional deficiencies; 61 for homicide; 52 for acute respiratory infections.
terrible image
The map reflects the priorities and values of our country’s decision-making. In this case, the image it reflects to us is horrific because it means the death of thousands of girls and boys under the age of five, the most vulnerable in our society. The expectation of millions is that when a new government takes office, there will be deeper and faster improvements in these types of indicators. But the government’s own figures show that, instead, his arrival represents a serious standstill in children’s rights.
Absolutely unacceptable stats
The government’s discourse on children is riddled with clichés and generally lacks a comprehensive rights perspective. Unfortunately, this is more than just talk. In this case, this way of speaking reflects the incomprehension and lack of commitment of the Republican and state governments to the Mexican children’s agenda, where even the right to life is seriously affected. . The first priority is to respect the principle of the best interests of the child.
AVC