Support for programs for neglected sectors in Ecuador

A US$24.5 million loan was today granted to the Republic of Ecuador to finance specific social projects as part of government and non-government initiatives, such as the "Plan Esperanza" program, being executed by the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference (CEE).

The loan agreement was signed in CAF headquarters by the Ecuadorian ambassador in Caracas, Alfonso Barrera, on behalf of his government, and CAF President & CEO Enrique García who said the loan was in line with one of the Corporation's objectives, which is to support sustainable human development in the less favored segments of economic activity.

Social Content One of the serious problems that Ecuador faces is its level of extreme poverty. To address this problem the government put the “Social Charter” into action to tackle the most urgent requirements of marginal urban and rural sectors of the Ecuadorian population, in the areas of education, health and environment, community development, institutional strengthening and technical assistance.

In the education area, the aim is to expand and improve the school and college infrastructure in marginal urban and rural areas, and create incentives for training and educational culture in children and young people from low-income backgrounds. Activities also includes teacher training, especially at technical level, as well as training of community leaders who have responsibility for social programs.

In the healthcare area, the project is oriented to educating, preventing and solving health problems in poor communities, specifically application of programs for water treatment, disease prevention and provision of health centers.

Educational projects will be developed to make the population aware of the need to protect the environment and take community action in this respect.

In the area of community development, projects include execution of works in favor of the most neglected communities to improve their socioeconomic situation, giving priority to the social housing program for low-income sectors in which the beneficiaries participate directly.

The Social Charter also includes execution of agricultural and marketing development programs for small production units, with subprojects to train members of indigenous campesino communities in production and marketing techniques for basic consumer products.

Finally, the program includes planning a set of activities to strengthen institutional structure – both the central organization of the CEE and the administrative units in each provincial jurisdiction – along with the support activities needed for execution of the projects.

CAF is an international financial institution whose mission is to support the sustainable development of its member countries and regional integration. It is formed by the five countries of the Andean Community: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, along with Brazil, Chile, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, which are members of other regional integration schemes such as Mercosur, FTA, Caricom, and the Group of Three.