It all begins in childhood

The circumstances in which a person is born and grows up greatly determine his or her future. More than a quarter of Spain’s children are born, live and develop in a cycle of poverty. An advanced society cannot tolerate this figure. Changing this situation, offering these children the opportunity to develop and grow up with health, safely and happily, is social justice. It is also a sign of collective intelligence.

Spain is the third country in the European Union in terms of child poverty rate, with 1 in 4 children at risk of poverty (2.3 million). To fight against these intolerable figures, the High Commissioner against Poverty has launched the Alianza País Pobreza Infantil Cero (Country Partnership for Zero Child Poverty), the joining together of more than 75 companies, foundations, third sector organizations and public administrations, which was created with two priority goals: to guarantee inclusive and quality education and to generate healthy, positive and safe environments.

At Fundación MAPFRE we know that the conditions in which children are born and grow up have an impact on their future options, but also on the development of the whole country. We believe that child poverty affects us all, so we must all fight it. Hence we have joined this governmental initiative convinced that the teamwork of all social actors is the key to eradicate this situation of inequality. 

The challenges are complex but we are going to dedicate all our efforts to overcome them. We want to help boost educational attainment, empower talent, close the digital gap, ensure balanced physical, psychological and social health, promote a safe and protective environment and foster participation with equity.

To achieve this, the Alianza País Pobreza Infantil Cero (Country Partnership for Zero Child Poverty) proposes four main lines of work: coordination between the actors in the partnership, social awareness of the problem, quality training and the deployment of public and private resources.

Our future as a country depends on the children of today, on the conditions in which each member of society lives and evolves. Fighting against child poverty has always been important, but now it is urgent.