[13. 1. 2022] The AGF has presented recommendations on the topic area “health” of the Child Guarantee. This is the second publication by AGF on the Child Guarantee after it’s recommendations on “Nutrition” in December 2021. The recommendations are intended to contribute to the discussion on the planned national action plan for the implementation of the Child Guarantee in Germany.
The AGF welcomes the “European Child Guarantee” and sees in it a chance to intensify the fight against child and family poverty and for more equal health opportunities. Its implementation is underpinned by the hope and expectation that the fight against child poverty will receive new impetus.
The now published recommendations on “Health” base not least on an expert meeting held by AGF and the Collaborative Network for Equity in Health (Kooperationsverbund Gesundheitliche Chancengleichheit) in Augaust 2021.
The paper emphazises that the national action plan must be guided by a comprehensive concept of health and must place health-promoting, proportionate preventive measures that target physical, mental and social influences on child health at the centre of its political strategy.
In particular, the recommendations address the following areas:
- General remarks on the relationship between poverty and health and on the implementation of the Child Guarantee
- Further developing early intervention and follow-up measures
- Preventive medical checkups
- Facilitating access to rehabilitation for children and young people
- Expanding prevention chains nationwide and promoting family health more vigorously
- Boosting the health-promoting functions of family-related services
- Strengthening social work and health professionals in daycare centres and schools
- Promoting a health-promoting healthy eating and physical activity culture in childcare centres and schools
- Attracting and qualifying specialists, promoting diverse teams and facilitating cooperation
Background:
On 14 June 2021, the EU Member States adopted a “European Child Guarantee”. The aim of the Child Guarantee is to “prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access for children in need to a range of essential services, thereby also contributing to the protection of children’s rights by combating child poverty and promoting equal opportunities.”
The AGF accompanies the implementation process of the Child Guarantee and develops recommendations for the national implementation against the background of the German situation. The AGF publishes these recommendations at irregular intervals. In December 2021, it published the first recommendations, which related primarily to the topic area “nutrition”.