Paraguay's social security system faces familiar regional pressures. Coverage gaps, institutional fragmentation, and financial sustainability all weigh on the system, compounded by demographic shifts and a changing labour market. A new diploma programme is working to close that gap, equipping professionals with the technical tools to analyze, evaluate, and improve the system from the inside.
The Diploma in Social Security: Contemporary Debates and Challenges wrapped up on 29 July with a graduation ceremony marking the end of the programme. It was driven by M-GA, the joint UN-World Bank mechanism supporting countries in building integrated, well-coordinated employment and social protection policies. In Paraguay, it was led by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MTESS), with support from the UN System through the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNDP, and the World Bank, in partnership with the Faculty of Social Sciences at the National University of Asunción (FACSO-UNA). Over 40 professionals took part, guided by a team of 20 national and international faculty specializing in social security and social protection.
The closing ceremony brought together national authorities, representatives from MTESS, the UN System, FACSO-UNA, and the graduates themselves. Paraguay's Minister of Labour, Mónica Recalde, reflected on what the process surfaced among participants. "In these weeks, the graduates have discussed, seen the complexities, and drawn their own conclusions," she said.
Rocío Galiano, the UN Resident Coordinator a.i. in Paraguay, framed the graduation as more than an academic milestone.
"Today we celebrate not only the conclusion of an academic process, but the strengthening of key capacities among those who hold the responsibility of transforming the social protection system in Paraguay," she said.
Verónica Herken, ILO National Officer in Paraguay, pointed to the lasting value of the exchange.
"This diploma promoted the exchange of knowledge and dialogue among those with a key role in designing and implementing social protection policies, building capacities that will remain within institutions," she said.
Participants worked through both contributory and non-contributory schemes, covering international regulatory frameworks, institutional architecture, financing and sustainability, actuarial analysis, and the health, pension, and labour risk systems that shape social security in practice. The hybrid format combined weekly virtual sessions with in-person gatherings at the programme's opening and close.
Graduates described the programme's impact on how they see the system. Iván Ortíz, from Caja Bancaria, said the diploma helped him "see social security as a whole."
Eliana Ayala, from MTESS, called social security "a social pact," noting that behind every debate and reform are people and families waiting for inequalities to shrink.
Originally published by UNDP Paraguay.
Note:
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds, and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Arab Gulf Programme for Development for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
