IPC-IG researchers meet with Paraguayan authorities to discuss the country's social protection system
Researchers from the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) working on the project "Informing the redesign of social protection programmes in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector" met with representatives of the Unidad Técnica del Gabinete Social (UTGS) of the government of Paraguay to discuss the country’s social protection system.
The project is being developed through a partnership between the IPC-IG and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The goal is to assess the social protection measures provided to fisherfolk in Brazil, Paraguay and Tunisia and generate evidence on adequate compensation during closed seasons.
The information gathered in the meeting, which was held on 20 July 2022, will inform the development of Policy Research Briefs, which aim at providing solutions to extend social protection coverage and improve the adequacy of benefits provided to artisanal fishers and workers in the aquaculture sector.
One of the measures adopted by the Paraguayan government is the selection of pilot districts to coordinate social protection policy at the local level to achieve objectives established at the national level. These districts were selected based on their various unique characteristics, and the implemented measures are to consider local peculiarities.
"The idea was to implement a series of approaches and strategies that integrate social services. Therefore, we decided to create different packages according to various territorial contexts, considering Paraguay’s heterogeneity", emphasised one of the UTSG representatives.
Inter-institutional committees were created to coordinate, plan, implement, and monitor the programme. Although the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the entire process, work is currently being resumed in the selected territories. The responsible institutions are currently coordinating with each other to attain the project’s goals more efficiently.