PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says it is supporting Haiti in implementing its National Policy for Social Protection and Promotion.

“We at ECLAC continue to be available to support Haiti in forging a social protection system with a State vision and with a rights-based perspective placing equality at the centre,” said Alberto Arenas de Mesa, ECLAC’s director of the Social Development Division. He was speaking during an international seminar entitled “Haiti: The challenges of implementing the National Policy for Social Protection and Promotion (PNPPS)”, held in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, using a hybrid format (in person and virtual).

ECLAC said it organised the event in conjunction with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST) of Haiti, the Haiti office of the World Food Program (WFP) and the Embassy of Switzerland in Haiti, in the framework of the technical assistance and cooperation activities that the Commission has carried out with the ministry, since 2015, and with the WFP’s country office, since 2019. This culminated in the promulgation of the National Policy for Social Protection and Promotion in July 2020.

According to ECLAC, the promulgation of the PNPPS is considered to be a major political and institutional advance, since “this instrument defines the strategic framework for the interventions needed to sustainably address priority tasks such as the eradication of poverty, the reduction of inequalities, and the promotion of all Haitians’ autonomy and rights.

As well as the other institutions, ECLAC says that it is now focused on supporting this policy’s effective implementation, in particular the drafting of action plans at a national and departmental level.

The international seminar featured opening remarks by Pierre Ricot Odney, Minister of Social Affairs and Labour of Haiti; Marc-André Prost, Deputy Director of the World Food Program’s Haiti office; Fabrizio Poretti of the Swiss Embassy; and Alberto Arenas de Mesa from ECLAC.

Also participating in the event were officials from the MAST and other Haitian entities; governmental representatives from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay; specialists from ECLAC and the WFP; and members of civil society and academia.

In his remarks, Odney said he was convinced that the seminar would contribute to “identifying and very clearly addressing the distinct challenges related to implementation of the PNPPS, in order to achieve a coherent and effective social protection system.”

“On behalf of the government, and the MAST in particular, I want to express gratitude for the efforts made by the World Food Program and ECLAC, along with other United Nations agencies, which have supported us throughout this journey,” he said.