Key Aspects to Protect the Sexual Health of Children and Youth
Opinion editorial for El Nuevo Día. Authored by Edna Acosta Pérez, PhD, MSc, Psychologist and Health Educator, Co-Director of the Puerto Rico en Óptima Salud (PROSa) Program.
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Puerto Rican Voice and Participation on the Executive Board of the International Union of Psychological Science
The International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) elected Puerto Rican Dr. Marizaida Sánchez Cesáreo as the organization’s treasurer. Dr. Sánchez Cesáreo is the first Puerto Rican woman to hold a leadership position in this organization, which brings together professionals and associations dedicated to mental health worldwide. In her role, Sánchez Cesáreo will promote an agenda representing Caribbean identities in international psychology, bring new resources to the institution, and foster collaborations with other organizations.
“The International Union of Psychological Science has tremendous potential to engage in collective impact efforts to attract new members, expand its capacity, and consolidate its position as a global psychology representative. I look forward to contributing to the organization’s growth and the advancement of a diverse agenda on the issues driving our profession and impacting the countries of our region,” said Sánchez Cesáreo, who is the CEO of Grupo Nexos, a Puerto Rican nonprofit organization providing consulting, capacity building, and evaluation services using evidence-based practices.
Sánchez Cesáreo holds a Ph.D. in Community Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Women’s Studies from DePaul University in Chicago. In addition to leading Grupo Nexos, she chairs the Governor’s Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice Prevention. She has played a key role in the local creation and dissemination of evidence-based practices. Recognized for her contributions to public health, she has initiated more than 50 community health projects grounded in the collective impact framework.
Sánchez Cesáreo’s election took place during the 33rd International Congress of Psychology, recently held in Prague, Czech Republic. The organization elected its board of directors to drive the entity’s strategic plans for the next four years. The Congress brought together over 4,000 psychology professionals from around the world.
The International Union of Psychological Science has 96 member countries and 20 affiliated organizations, representing over a million psychologists worldwide. It seeks to promote the development, practice, and representation of psychology as a science at national, regional, and international levels. Founded in 1889 during the first International Congress of Psychology in Paris, it holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, maintains formal association relations with UNESCO, and official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO).
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Nexo Directo Newsletter | August 2024
Access our quarterly newsletter here: Nexo Directo Newsletter | August 2024
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International Congress of Psychology
Puerto Rico will participate in the International Congress of Psychology in Prague, organized by the International Union of Psychological Science. The Puerto Rico Association of Psychology will be present, and our members are part of the delegation, offering a keynote address on strategies to improve employee well-being and oral presentations on well-being, trauma, and care experiences.
The conference will be held from July 21 to 26, 2024. Access our participation schedule here: GN – Itinerario Conferencia Internacional Psicología 2024
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Health education project launches tool to strengthen parenting skills
The photo book showcases dynamics to help parents or caregivers connect with their teenage children.
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Grupo Nexos: Annual Report 2023
The annual report for Grupo Nexos for the year 2023 is now available. The first annual report of Grupo Nexos is a milestone that marks our journey since our foundation in 2021. This report highlights our efforts and achievements from our inception until December 2023. You can access the report through the following link: Grupo Nexos: 2023 Annual Report
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Attention to child and youth care to eliminate poverty
In recent years, international initiatives have emerged to promote and improve individual, family, and community well-being. One of the initiatives led by the United Nations (UN) is the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 to combine systemic strategies between and within countries to eliminate poverty and social inequalities, protect natural resources, and achieve a sustainable world by 2030. SDGs comprise 17 goals with 169 interdependent indicators that seek to leave no one behind. This pact between countries constitutes a series of actions to achieve a desired transformation.
As part of the UN universal call, Puerto Rico has initiated different strategies to analyze what we have and lack in terms of policies and services to achieve the SDGs. The 2023 Puerto Rico Voluntary Local Report presented by the Puerto Rico Community Foundation encompasses one of these efforts. Some of the problems highlighted in the report and made visible in various studies are issues that affect human well-being, such as poverty, increased social inequalities, lack of access and availability to comprehensive health services, and the worsening of high-quality education both at the primary and higher levels, among others. All these issues are interrelated with the SDGs.
Specifically, we must emphasize the SDGs’ first goal: ending poverty. Puerto Rico lags, with 43% of the general population living below the poverty line, according to data from the Youth Development Institute (2023). It takes us even further away from meeting this objective, the fact that 55% of the child and youth population lives below the poverty line. Impoverishment has adverse implications for the positive development of the child and youth population and their families and affects human rights. Structural factors that perpetuate poverty (the following is not exhaustive) are related to poorer health outcomes, limited access to adequate housing, a non-nutritious diet, problems with academic achievement, and even barriers to obtaining paid work fair enough to achieve a sustainable livelihood for oneself and the family.
It is urgent to take action addressing the impoverishment factors that increase vulnerability among children, youth, and their families, which are generally women-led. Following the first SDG goal, it is urgent to implement policies and programs in Puerto Rico that support child and adolescent care, backing up mothers in the parenting process and their economic development. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), social responsibilities related to family care disproportionately affect women and, in turn, harm their participation in the labor market. Regarding this, the Study of the Needs of Working Women (2022) prepared by the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico reports that 47% of women need child care for their children, dependents, or family members, emphasizing that 63% require it for their school-age children and 37% for preschool-age children. These data confirm the need to understand and pay attention to the challenges women face to support the socio-economic development of families.
We are in a good moment to review and critically analyze the SDGs and explore how we can contribute from our place of action. Multi-level actions by the state, the nonprofit sector, and citizens are essential to achieving a country that guarantees social justice, equality, and peace. Let us remember that social transformations are also achieved from the bottom up.
Originally published by El Nuevo Día.
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Child poverty: What is our aspiration?
For solutions to be effective, a multisectoral effort is required, one that operates at various levels and is sustained over time, states Marizaida Sánchez-Cesáreo.
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El Nuevo Día: Organizations receive a $6 million federal grant to address child poverty and health inequity.
The funds are intended to subsidize research aimed at promoting long-term changes in how minors from 0 to 21 years old, their parents, and caregivers receive services.
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Innovative research initiative receives $6M award to fight health disparities fueled by poverty in Puerto Rico
The initiative will employ a collective impact approach resulting from the collaboration of local organizations and national partners.
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