- The program supports policy measures to improve the quality of social spending, particularly the targeting, governance, and transparency of social protection programs and the comprehensive improvement of the timeliness and quality of managed prenatal, childbirth, and newborn care.
- The measures promoted with this operation reinforce the commitment to the inclusion of indigenous populations and the implementation of health services with cultural relevance.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $300 million policy support operation to accompany measures to benefit the most vulnerable population in Guatemala by improving social protection services and health programs.
The operation seeks to improve the quality, governance, and transparency of social protection programs by strengthening the capacity for planning, monitoring, evaluation, and communication, and developing and implementing a Strategic Information Technology Plan.
Among the social protection measures, the Social Registry of Homes will contribute to selecting the beneficiaries through transparent methodologies. In addition, the analysis of the results with a gender approach will allow the estimation of coverage gaps and the review, adaptation, and prioritization of social programs to close said gaps.
Besides, the loan seeks to improve the health services provided to the population through the design and implementation of policies for the continuous improvement of the quality of prenatal care and childbirth, as well as the financing and management measures necessary for its consolidation and the coordination of the emergency network, the development of health information technologies and health care with cultural relevance.
These measures seek to improve results in the fight against poverty, which continues to be a challenge in Guatemala. For example, in 2020, as a result of the crisis, poverty went from 51.5% to 54.9%. It also seeks to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, advance towards the Sustainable Development Goals for maternal mortality, and reduce the gaps in this indicator between indigenous women and the rest of the population.
The IDB loan seeks to benefit households from the main social protection programs (around 800,000 people), as well as pregnant women and newborns (there are approximately 28,000 births a year in the prioritized municipalities), and indigenous populations that will benefit from policies with cultural relevance (about 430,000 people).
Supporting vulnerable populations, promoting social progress, and working for gender equity are the objectives that the IDB Group sets out in its Vision 2025, a roadmap to achieve inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The IDB loan of $300 million has a disbursement period of 1 year.
About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.
Planes,Maria Soledad

Ibarraran,Pablo

Astorga,Ignacio Jose
