Mario Delgado Presents Progress on Health and Addiction Prevention in Schools
At the LXIII National Plenary Ordinary Meeting 2025 of the Consejo Nacional de Autoridades Educativas (Conaedu), Mario Delgado Carrillo, the Secretary of Public Education (SEP), presented an overview of actions under the “Vive saludable, vive feliz” strategy and the anti-addiction campaign “Aléjate de las drogas. El fentanilo te mata.” These initiatives are implemented nationwide by the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
Key Achievements in School Health and Addiction Prevention
- Prohibition of junk food in schools, welcomed by the teaching community.
- Some school cooperatives report improved economic results after adopting healthier alternatives.
Delgado Carrillo emphasized the importance of adhering to the General Guidelines for the Sale or Distribution of Foods and Beverages in Educational Establishments to definitively eliminate the consumption of ultra-processed products.
Digital Health Records and Dental Care
The SEP has promoted nutritional consultations, free eyeglasses delivery, dental care, and medical follow-ups through an IMSS-developed app. This application enables the creation of a digital health record for students and facilitates scheduling appointments with clinics and specialists.
Delgado Carrillo highlighted the dental health crisis, stating that 40% of children have never visited a dentist and 76% suffer from caries, emphasizing the need for accessible dental care as part of the “Vive saludable, vive feliz” strategy.
IMSS Director Zoé Robledo Presents Program Results
Zoé Robledo, the General Director of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), presented results from the “Vive saludable, vive feliz” program targeting primary schools. The initiative aims to enhance early preventive health in Mexican children by addressing crucial aspects such as visual acuity, weight, stature, oral health, and promoting healthy habits.
- Creation of the first digital health record space for children, a significant advancement allowing continuous health monitoring.
- Ambitious goals: evaluate 11,275,000 primary students in 90,816 schools through the work of 7,744 brigadistas.
Subsecretary Ramiro López Elizalde Stresses Importance of Healthy Diets
Ramiro López Elizalde, Subsecretary of Health and Population Welfare Policies at the Secretariat of Health, emphasized the significance of reestablishing healthy eating principles from childhood as part of a comprehensive public health prevention strategy.
- Traditional Mexican foods like beans, corn, calabaza, and quelites are valuable nutritional treasures resulting from ancestral wisdom that should be preserved and promoted.
Collaborative Efforts in Education
Angélica Noemí Juárez Pérez, Subsecretary of Basic Education, highlighted the relevance of Consejos Técnicos Escolares (CTE) as essential spaces for teachers to reflect, make decisions, and collaborate in schools.
Tania Rodríguez Mora, Subsecretary of Higher Education, outlined the Ley General de Educación Media Superior’s objectives: defining a solid formative profile, ordering existing modalities, and establishing a national articulated system.
Ricardo Villanueva Lomelí, Subsecretary of Higher Education, mentioned that 5,140,535 students are enrolled in higher education institutions. He proposed motivating these students to pursue university studies and suggested exploring hybrid education, updated curricula, and distance learning to achieve a national coverage of 55% by the end of the current six-year term, as proposed by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
Reactivation of Sports Encounters
Rommel Pacheco, Head of the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sports (Conade), announced the relaunch of sports events through the National Olympiad 2025, Mexico’s primary athlete breeding ground. Competitions will start on May 16, involving 40,000 athletes, coaches, and judges across 51 sports disciplines, focusing on inclusion, excellence, and holistic development.
