In the framework of the 73rd Ordinary Meeting of the Council for Central American Social Integration (SICA), the Ministers of the different Social Cabinets of the SICA region approved the SICA Regional Integral Social Policy 2020-2040: Integrating through Social Inclusion (PSIR- SICA).
“Our people are on a par with all the brother nations of Central America in this struggle to recover again. Working closely with the population is the reason for our work. We are grateful for the support of our partners such as FAO and EUROsociAL + who have always accompanied us in this process ”, said Guillermo González, Minister-Director, of the National System for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention of Disasters and President Pro Tempore of SICA for the Nicaraguan Republic.
The PSIR-SICA, with a medium and long-term vision, complements and strengthens other national and regional policies, strategies, agendas and social programs; in particular the Regional Intersectoral Agenda on Social Protection and Productive Inclusion with Equity 2020-2030 (ARIPSIP), being in turn an instrument that seeks to support from the regional the achievement that each member country carries out in favor of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, whose compliance is at serious risk due to the negative effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
This policy was revised in light of the lessons left by the Pandemic and comprises an axis that links the social implications of climate change, seeking to support the creation of resilience in the Central American population.
“Currently all countries face challenges to face the impacts of the Pandemic and the effects of climatic events. Through this regional policy, the SICA countries give priority to reducing the structural aspects that deepen inequalities, promoting mechanisms of social protection and productive inclusion”, said Luiz Beduschi, FAO Territorial Development Policy Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The Pandemic affects the whole world, we have been 70 years without a truly global phenomenon. PSIR-SICA is a key tool to emphasize common issues and interests, where collaboration between countries will allow more effective solutions and a logic of economies”, commented Francesco Chiodi, Coordinator of the Social Policies Area of EUROsociAL +.
It is also characterized by unrestricted respect for human rights and seeks to reduce inequality in all its manifestations, particularly gender and territorial inequalities, access to habitat, adequate housing and basic social services, especially in the areas of education and Health. To support its implementation, there is already an exercise of monitoring indicators for the strategic goals of said policy, which will enrich the Regional Monitoring Mechanism.
Social inclusion
For their part, the Ministers highlighted the importance and centrality of the social dimension of the integration process and invited development partners to take the PSIR-SICA as a reference, as a reflection of the joint will of the countries to advance towards the achievement of a more inclusive region with social welfare.
“As the Secretariat, we express commitment to comply with the instructions provided by the Council, for the dissemination of the instrument with regional bodies and development partners, the sum of efforts and the creation of synergies that contribute to the implementation and achievement of the goals raised”, commented Alfredo Suárez, SISCA Representative.
Likewise, the Council recognized the support provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the formulation of this instrument, a body that has accompanied the actions of this Council in matters of social protection and has favored the intersectoral of social issues. He thanked the support and contribution of the European Union Program for Social Cohesion in Latin America EUROsociAL +, carried out through the Axis of Social Policies; and invited to continue supporting its implementation.
