"América en el Centro" is a regional development program designed as an umbrella to address common and cross-border challenges faced by countries in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (CAPDR). The initiative seeks to unlock the region's potential, promote sustainable development, and foster resilience.
The "América en el Centro" program aims to promote sustainable development and resilience in Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic (CAPDR), fostering the conditions for a more integrated and productive region, increasing its resilience and adaptation to climate challenges, and enhancing the opportunities for the youth.
In addition to these objectives, it provides a platform for mutual learning, where successful interventions and best practices are shared and replicated emphasizing knowledge sharing, enhancing technical cooperation, coordinating partners, and mobilizing resources.
Enhancing the regional sustainable infrastructure involves the modernization of regional logistic corridors and the improvement of energy connectivity. This facilitates regional integration and supports participation in global value chains.
Participation in global value chains is also bolstered by cross-border trade facilitation, investment promotion, market access, and the strengthening of sustainable agricultural productivity.
Promoting sustainable forest, soil, water and biodiversity involves exploring innovative climate and nature-positive financing frameworks, such as debt-for-nature swaps, thematic bonds, and other sustainability-linked financing mechanisms, as well as forest management and the development of necessary regulatory frameworks.
Preparing for climate-induced challenges requires developing disaster risk management and preparedness for climate-induced social challenges. These encompass adapting to natural disaster through risk management, , improving the responsiveness of social protection systems, and reducing the prevalence of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue.
Equip youth with essential skills for success, including foundational and digital literacy and providing them with sector-specific skills for private sector development to enhance employability and reduce incentives for migration.
Reduce gender gaps by increasing female labor force participation, addressing teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence to ensure equitable and inclusive economic development.
We have a new approach that unifies and focuses the work of the IDB, IDB Invest and IDB Lab under one goal.