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OAS Receives 1.73 Million Dollars from the United States for the Inter-American Social Protection Network

The Organization of American States (OAS) today received 1.73 million dollars from the Government of the United States to support the future activities of the Inter-American Social Protection Network (IASPN), a program coordinated by the hemispheric Organization and created to contribute to reduce inequality and social disparities in the hemisphere.

In a ceremony held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, the Secretary General of the Organization, José Miguel Insulza, thanked the Government of the United States for its “continued support for the strengthening of the Inter-American Social Protection Network, an initiative that responds to a mandate from the Fifth Summit of the Americas.” Alongside the Secretary General during the presentation were the Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS, Carmen Lomellin, and the Vice Chair of the Permanent Council and Representative of Chile to the Organization, Darío Paya, as well as members of the U.S. Department of State and high-level officials from the hemispheric Organization.

The head of the OAS recalled that in Port-of-Spain, host of the Fifth Summit of the Americas, “the Heads of State and Government expressed their concerns regarding the high rates of poverty and inequality in the region, as well as the need to advance in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.” “In this sense,” he added, “they endorsed the establishment of the IASPN as a mechanism to share knowledge, policies and lessons learned in social protection.”

Since its launch in 2009, the Network has developed numerous tasks, among them the launch of the first Diploma Course on Social Protection for the Americas, in the framework of an agreement with the “Pontificia Universidad Católica” in Chile; collaboration agreements with foundations and organizations which will facilitate the involvement of the private sector and civil society in the Network’s activities; inter-agency alliances with multiple United Nations agencies that have allowed for high-impact coordinated actions on social protection issues; two workshops where the status and characteristics of international cooperation on social protection were analyzed, together with the challenges facing the region in the framework of South-South cooperation; and the development of the IASPN Website.

In this sense, the Secretary General highlighted the important work the IASPN has conducted in the Caribbean. “Through the innovative Puente in the Caribbean Program, the Network served as a platform to facilitate knowledge sharing between seven Caribbean countries and Chile with the purpose of analyzing the programmatic and operative aspects of the program from the Chilean social protection system, ‘Chile Solidario’”, he said. “As a concrete result of the Network’s activities in the Caribbean, we can highlight the creation of national programs inspired by Puente, such as Bridge Jamaica, RISE UP in Trinidad and Tobago, Koudemain in St. Lucia, and I-SEE Bridge in Barbados,” he added.

With the funds received today, the OAS will strengthen these activities and introduce “new tools and approaches which, we are certain, will shape the Network into one of the main horizontal cooperation platforms, and position it as one of the principal forums for political dialogue on social protection policies and programs,” said the head of the Organization. Among the initiatives to be tackled in the coming years are the conversion of the Website into a more agile tool; the creation of a consortium of universities aimed at diversifying the supply of capacity-building options in social protection training; and diagnostic and technical support actions aimed at improving the mainstreaming of the gender perspective in social protection policies and programs at the Ministries of Social Development.

For her part, Ambassador Lomellin said the Inter-American Social Protection Network “illustrates the kind of relationship the United States is committed to maintaining with our neighbors in the Hemisphere—a relationship that is based, as President Obama stated in Trinidad and Tobago, on mutual respect, equality, shared responsibility, and collaboration to address common problems.”

The American representative characterized as “valuable” the role played by the OAS as coordinator of the Network and highlighted that “as we enter this second phase of the Social Protection Network, it is important to view see it as a tool for all members of the inter-American System, including governments, institutions, and civil society, and urge all to contribute to making the IASPN a long-term success.”

Since its launch, the Network has grown in its role of promoting the exchange and transfer of experiences and knowledge on social protection among its members, and as a community for local practice and learning. It was established through a decision by the Ministers and High-Level Authorities of Social Development at their meeting in 2008, and received its mandates from the 2009 Summit of the Americas, when the Heads of State adopted the commitment to support it with the goal of “exchanging information on policies, experiences, programs and best practices” and to strengthen the “efforts to reduce inequality and social disparities and reduce extreme poverty.”

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-911/11