CRC/C/ARG/CO/3-4 16. The Committee recommends that the State party improve coordination at the provincial and municipal levels and that careful consideration be given by the provincial governments to the need for specificity of child policy, programmes and human and financial resources, avoiding duplication or gaps. National Plan of Action 17. The Committee notes that a National Plan of Action for the rights of children and adolescents was adopted in 2009, covering the period 2008-2011 and containing 36 goals with their respective indicators. The Committee regrets that the plan does not have any operational provisions attached to it, nor a monitoring mechanism to track indicators, nor specific budgetary allocations. 18. The Committee recommends that the National Action Plan become an integral part of national development planning and the formulation of social policy, and be used to enhance the implementation of Act No. 26061. It further recommends that the National Action Plan be clearly articulated with the national and provincial budgets, and that it be extended for a new period. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure that an evaluation and monitoring mechanism be developed to regularly assess progress achieved and to identify possible deficiencies. It encourages the State party to further ensure that the National Plan of Action is fully implemented at the national, provincial and municipal levels in a coordinated manner. Independent monitoring 19. The Committee notes that monitoring of children’s rights is included in the mandate of the National Ombudsperson (Defensoría del Pueblo de la Nación Argentina). The Committee welcomes the introduction, by Act No. 26061 (2005), of an Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents; however, it shares the concern of the State party at the delays in the appointment of the mandate holder by Parliament. 20. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to expedite the appointment by Parliament of the Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents, in order to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. The Committee recommends that the Ombudsperson be able to receive and investigate complaints from, or on behalf of, children on violations of their rights and be provided with the necessary human, technical and financial resources. Allocation of resources 21. The Committee welcomes the sustained increase since 2002 in social investment. In particular it welcomes the introduction in 2009 of the Universal Family Allowance per Child for Social Protection of 180 Argentine pesos (about US$ 48) per month (for up to a maximum of five children) for families of those employed in the informal market and the unemployed, who do not otherwise have social security, and notes that the initiative currently covers some 3.5 million children. The Committee welcomes the preliminary results of the application of the subsidy; for example, enrolment in preschool, primary schools and secondary schools has increased by 15 per cent, 10 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, in one year, and the enrolment in the mother-child health programme (Programa Nacer) has increased by 30 per cent since 2008, both in line with the requirements for the Universal Family Allowance (presentation of school certificate and vaccination card). The Committee also welcomes the work that is being done by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to identify investment in children (calculated at 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product) and to focus on poverty areas. It however notes with serious concern that disparities between 4