COSTA RICA NEWS – Costa Rica and the University of Oxford, England are teaming up to implement a tool that will be framework for public policy in state institutions, to fight inequality and extreme poverty.
The tools comes from the multidimensional index developed by the academic institution, which measures the level of poverty holistically, not limited solely to the income factor, as has been done traditionally.
The joint effort was announced by Casa Presidencial (Government House) on Thursday,
This new approach is to analyze access to public services and the provision of basic needs unmet, such as education, housing, employment, health, among others, and, according to the government, will help focus efforts on the 6% of the population living in extreme poverty.
In Costa Rica the process will be coordinated by the Consejo Presidencial Social, directed by the second vice-president of Ana Helena Chacón, in coordination with the Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social (IMAS), the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC), and the Asociación Horizonte Positivo.
“We found that despite efforts to maintain a high social investment, the number of poor people increased in Costa Rica, to the point where 33% of households are in a position of vulnerability, ie. they are poor or are under the threat of it. This Government will improve the use of resources, coordinating efforts,” said vice-president Chacón.
President Luis Guillermo Solís said that with this tool, the government will break the abusive practices that have been committed in the execution of 22 existing social programs.
“We will focus on the development of policies that reach the people most in need of support and guidance and for the State that welfare programs are important, but we need to be effective in their application and scope; this is something we are reviewing in full detail,” said Solís.
The model, as announced, has been successfully developed in other countries with similar socioeconomic conditions of Costa Rica, such as Chile and Uruguay, that have made significant progress in combating poverty.
Source: El Pais: University of Oxford; Casa Presidencial
