Santo Domingo-. The Chair of Sustainability “Alejandro E. Grullón E.” of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), together with five other institutions, inaugurated this Wednesday the first ¨Climate Change Forum and its Impact on Early Childhood¨.
This first Forum continues today, Thursday, with the start of work in the sectoral technical tables, to identify and define the necessary actions to align policies on this issue, in areas such as Education, Health and Food Safety, seen from the perspective of the challenges imposed by climate change.
In addition to PUCMM, the Popular Foundation, the United Nations Fund for Children and Children (UNICEF), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the National Institute for Comprehensive Care for Early Childhood (INAIPI) are involved in this project. and the National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism (CNCCMDL).
This conclave aims to sensitize the different sectors of national life about the impacts of climate change, especially in early childhood, in addition to making visible strategic environmental policies that guarantee the rights of boys and girls in three fundamental themes: Education , health and food.
The opening ceremony was headed by First Lady Raquel Arbaje, who said she hoped "that the conclusions reached by the forum's working groups find a quick path to concretion in policies, plans and programs in which collaboration between the Government and the social actors is the clean fuel that drives increasingly better environmental practices that favor early childhood in a particular way”.
During the forum, the Master Conference "Climate change and early childhood rights" was also presented, by the international consultant and expert in early childhood policies with a UNICEF climate change focus, Carlos del Castillo, who explained that for To guarantee the rights of children in the face of the effects of climate change, it is necessary to dictate public policies and provide for multisectoral actions that comprehensively address the needs of mothers and fathers, to ensure the well-being of children.
When welcoming, Dr. Iluminada Severino, PUCMM Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance, expressed her hope that this forum, where strategies and solutions will be discussed to protect and well-being of early childhood in the face of climate change, "will motivate us to take concrete action in our communities and globally, because together we can make a difference and create a better world for our children.”
Likewise, the executive director of Inaipi, Besaida Manola Santana, specified that it is children at an early age who are the most affected by the effects generated by climate change worldwide, highlighted the impact on health and called for the living forces of the nation to unite efforts in order to minimize the ravages of these changes and guarantee a better planet for future generations.
Meanwhile, the executive vice president of the CNCCMDL, Max Puig, recalled that climate change is a reality that is already present and to which the Dominican Republic is highly exposed and highly vulnerable, so it is urgent to take measures to ensure care of early childhood in the face of foreseeable effects of this phenomenon, such as the incidence of tropical storms, the loss of coastal territory, longer droughts and more intense periods of rain, among others.
José Mármol, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications, Reputation and Responsible Banking of Grupo Popular, S.A. and vice president of the Board of Directors of the Popular Foundation, mentioned some of the risks that climate change represents during early childhood, such as the fact that they may suffer the suspension of initial education services, malnutrition, accidents, diseases transmitted by pollution and affect the mental health of children and caregivers, with risks of displacement and physical insecurity.