The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $100 million program to support the vulnerable population in El Salvador who face adverse impacts. 

El Salvador is the third country with the highest risk of disasters in Central America, and 71.9% of people in poverty live in areas exposed to natural disasters. The program seeks to increase the resilience of households affected by adverse events, including those caused by climate change. To this end, it will create an integrated social protection system that responds to transitory shocks of different natures, such as natural disasters and health emergencies. 

Monetary transfers are one of the most effective responses to protect and support the income and consumption of households affected by adverse events. This operation, which was approved by the IDB Executive Board, will finance a new monetary transfer project to serve families in poverty in urban and rural areas, prioritizing households led by women, households with children under eight years of age, households with people with disabilities, and households with people over 70 years. 

The project will also increase the coverage and quality of child development services. It will finance the equipment of 47 Child Welfare Centers (CBI), the development of pedagogical guides for the national early childhood curriculum, and the training of direct care personnel of the 187 CBI, among other initiatives. In turn, the initiative will increase the coverage of comprehensive early childhood care services by designing, implementing, and evaluating a home visit modality. In total, the operation will benefit 170,000 homes affected by adverse events. 

The IDB loan of $100 million has a disbursement period of 5 years, a grace period of 5.5 years, and an interest rate based on SOFR.