According to the study, based on figures from the 2020 Population and Housing Census carried out by the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), two out of five children in the entire isthmus have access to the Social Security Fund (CSS).
This reality also means that 58 per cent of children between the ages of zero and 17 are not covered, an age range that is included in the analysis given that the International Convention on the Rights of the Child states that childhood extends to the age of 18 years.
The situation is even more serious in indigenous communities, where the protected child population shows that only one in five children has access to social security.
The communities of Ngäbe-Buglé and Guna Yala have the lowest coverage, with 97 per cent of their child population without access to social security, followed by the comarca of Emberá Wounaan (93 per cent) and the province of Darién (84 per cent).
Children without access to social security are deprived of a basic level of well-being and fall short of the Sustainable Development Goal of establishing effective systems for the poorest and most vulnerable.
In this regard, the UNICEF representative in Panama, Sandie Blanchet, pointed out that this analysis shows that indigenous children and adolescent mothers are at greater risk of exclusion, which requires the implementation of public policies and investments so that they can be included and reach their full potential.
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