Uruguay boasts one of the lowest poverty rates and the third-highest GDP in Latin America, yet despite its relative success, the government continues to fail its most vulnerable citizens. Children from low-income households face danger at every turn — sexual exploitation, food insecurity, homelessness, violence and child labor. While Uruguayan policy has begun to address these preventable and amenable injustices, it has yet to achieve the necessary depth of impact to create lasting, sustainable change for the children of Uruguay.

Poverty and Displacement

An underprivileged child in Uruguay faces immense distress in their critical developmental years, which can potentially cause irreparable, lifelong damage. In 2020, children ages 0 to 5 were nine times more likely to live in poverty than a person more than 65. Some fall asleep in the streets to the sound of their gurgling, empty stomachs, a situation that the COVID-19 Pandemic exacerbated. Amid the outbreak, hundreds of Uruguayan families lost their homes; some took refuge in emergency shelters, while others had no choice but to camp along hazardous roadsides.

Adolescent Vulnerability and Government Efforts

Displaced and houseless families could no longer afford nutritious food. Their children, left to fend for themselves, fell subject to acutely precarious situations. In 2018, an estimated 45% of prisoners in Uruguay were adolescents, primarily young men caught in the crosshairs of drug trafficking and sexual exploitation. Juvenile detention centers, where many of these adolescents end up, offer no respite from tumultuous lives at home; in fact, conditions may be far worse, exposing kids to torture and extreme isolation. While the government has attempted to instate more scrupulous child abuse detection tools, their effort has not gone far enough. In 2016, Uruguay attempted to crack down on child abuse at its borders, which was largely fruitless. 

Humanitarian Organizations and Child Protection

Fortunately, humanitarian groups like UNICEF have been instrumental in Uruguay’s fight against childhood poverty and abuse. With the support of UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Development, the government has strengthened its protection and support for migrant children, adolescents and families through the 24-hour Casa Trampolín care center. Furthermore, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF provides reliable access to clean water in Uruguay and other countries through its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program.

Moving Forward

As Uruguay enhances its child protection services, UNICEF plays a critical role as a key partner. The organization has collaborated with the government to develop and implement a policy aimed at adolescent mental health. Additionally, UNICEF is working with the Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence to relaunch training strategies based on the national model for addressing violence against children and adolescents. These ongoing efforts aim to protect numerous children in Uruguay from abuse and suffering.

– Natalie Kaufman

Natalie is based in Orlando, FL, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr