The Integrated Social Promotion and Protection Project will also increase access to National Health Insurance and education.

Although the Dominican Republic’s economy has grown at an annual average rate of 6.7% over the last decade, making it one of the best performing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, poverty and inequality continue to present a challenges.

Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, the current vice-president of the Dominican Republic, described poverty as ‘structural, a multi-headed monster’. She said the government’s approach to tackling it must include integration and inter-institutional coordination in order to be efficient.

‘Because I believe in strengthening an inclusive and reliable social protection system that has ample coverage and equity, I once again commit to broadening the interventions we have boosted in the last decade with the Progresando Programme, helping many families out of poverty,’ said Cedeño de Fernández.

Sophie Sirtaine, World Bank director for the Caribbean, noted that the project would try to provide equal opportunities to all Dominicans, by strengthening existing safety nets and facilitating the employability of the most vulnerable people, in particular young women and men.

‘It also helps strengthen the targeting system and scales up an innovative system of citizen reports for more efficiency and transparency in the social protection system,’ she added.