Santo Domingo - The United Nations System presented to donor countries and agencies, as well as state and civil society entities, the results of the joint program "Communities of Care: Design and Implementation of the Pilot of the National Care Policy in Prioritized Territories in the Dominican Republic." This pilot project comes to an end after 30 months of implementation.
The programme, funded by the Joint SDG Fund, aimed to promote comprehensive solutions to care needs, focusing on women, people with disabilities, and older adults.
Mauricio Ramírez Villegas, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in the Dominican Republic, and Rosa Cañete, Director of Analysis of Poverty, Inequality, and Democratic Culture at the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Development, gave welcoming remarks at the event.
The presentation of the progress in the construction of the National Care Policy was led by Ángel Cuello, Sector Coordinator at the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Development (MEPyD), while the results of the "Communities of Care RD" project were presented by Noemi Gómez, Coordinator of the Interagency Project.
Notable results include:
- Technical advice and the development of methodological guides for the creation and structure of Local Care Plans, as a strategy to territorialize the policy.
- Support in updating and strengthening care programs for older adults and early childhood.
- The implementation of the first training program in the country on "Personal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities with Support Needs."
- Raising awareness of the importance of care work throughout the country, fostering a supportive environment for the construction of the National Care Policy.
- Technical support in the collection of socioeconomic information from households eligible for the pilot phase of the National Care Policy.
"Communities of Care" was recognized with second place in the social category of the 2024 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Partnership Awards, serving as a benchmark for good practice.
The project, led by the ILO, UN Women, UNFPA, and UNDP, supported the Dominican Government in the construction of a National Care Policy through a pilot strategy that unites the efforts of 10 government institutions: Supérate Program; Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Development (MEPyD); Ministry of Women; Ministry of Labor; National Council for Disability; National Council for the Elderly; National Institute for Technical and Professional Training (INFOTEP); Single Beneficiary System; National Council for Children and Adolescents; and the National Institute for Comprehensive Care for Early Childhood.
With "Care Communities," the foundations have been laid for the implementation of comprehensive solutions to care needs, the economic autonomy of women, and the right to care for children, dependent people with disabilities, and older adults.
Thanks to the "Communities of Care RD" project, the Dominican government now has the tools and institutional structure to develop and shape its national care policy, having the capacity to articulate an offer of professionalized care assistance services, with a focus on women, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
Originally published by the UN Dominican Republic.
Note:
All joint programs 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, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and our private sector funding partners, for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.