2024-03-08 10:42:32
The delay in contracting the services of the Early Childhood Program of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) is putting more than 1.2 million minors throughout the national territory at risk.
The alarms were set off by the Attorney General’s Office after carrying out an exhaustive sweep in various regions of the country., revealing the serious problems that the entity faces with the processes of selecting operators, signing contracts and the beginning of their execution. These difficulties have generated serious problems regarding the rights of children and pregnant mothers.
During the follow-up proceedings, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed the ICBF’s lack of planning and capacity to implement the new service contracting model, as well as the challenges that this entails, being clearly underestimated given the magnitude of the continuity of the Early Childhood Program.
The Second Delegate Attorney General’s Office for the Surveillance of Public Function also showed that The ICBF, since the end of 2023, should have made significant progress in the contracting processes. However, this did not happen and the situation worsened due to the lack of an alternative plan to guarantee the provision of the service.
You may be interested: For each child a woman has, 50 weeks will be reduced to retire
A palpable case of this worrying situation is found in the department of La Guajira, where at least 44 thousand children from the Wayúu community They suffer from the absence of the Early Childhood Program. This program, which includes initial education, nutritious food, family support and protective spaces, is essential for the development of minors and pregnant mothers.
The uncertainty intensifies when knowing that, of the 1,325 areas offered for the provision of services by the ICBF, until February 26, 2024, 240 areas have been declared deserted. Furthermore, in the selected areas, the contracts have not yet been signed nor have their execution begun.
Given this worrying panorama, the Attorney General’s Office once again urges the ICBF to expedite the contracting of services to safeguard the rights of the child population and guarantee continuous access to essential programs for their well-being and development.
You can read: Cycle 2 payment began for beneficiaries of the Colombia Mayor program