Amid low growth and inequality in the region, ECLAC considers it necessary for States to invest from 1,5 to 2,5 percent of their Gross Domestic Product in social programs.
These programs would include family and child benefits, maternity and health protection, unemployment benefits, work-related accidents, illness, disability and old age, the delivery of subsidies and goods, and school feeding programs.
ECLAC forwarded the report Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2024: challenges of non-contributory social protection, in the understanding that this is not linked to individual contributions from people throughout their lives, but from public resources or donations.
Since 2009, the number of households receiving cash transfers has gradually increased to reach 27.1 percent, which represents one in four people.
Asked by Prensa Latina about the impact on the elderly of these contributions, the executive secretary of ECLAC, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, considered that they are critical to reduce poverty, which decreased by 14 points for those over 65 years of age.
“This shows the effectiveness and importance of continuing to strengthen these systems,” he said. The report from the United Nations agency reflects that last year the poverty rate in the region was 27.3 percent, the lowest since 1990, and the extreme poverty rate was 10.6 percentage points.
Despite the progress, 172 million people in the area still do not have sufficient income to cover basic needs and, of them, 66 million cannot acquire a basic food basket.
Therefore, there is growing need to achieve sustainable financing and move towards universal, comprehensive and resilient social protection systems, said Salazar-Xirinachs.
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