• History

The “Invertir en la Gente” (Invest in People) program is an initiative run by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Paraguay, which began in 2003. In mid-2005 The United Nations Population Fund also became involved with the venture. The agencies involved saw the need to create a joint project dedicated to promoting analysis of the national budget, with a special emphasis on investment and social expenditure, through the implementation of instruments which permit the above to be studied, monitored and discussed, and for alternatives to be formulated on behalf of different groups within the population.

• The project is based on four fundamental themes

1. Construction of a trustworthy and up-to-date database concerning the structure and implementation of the general national expenditure budget.
2. Constant monitoring of the budgetary assignment and implementation for fundamental social programs, which comprise those elements deemed priority social expenditure: (i) reduction of extreme poverty; (ii) combatting malnutrition; (iii) universal access to basic education; (iv) primary healthcare and (v) universal access to drinking water, basic sanitation and other priority social investments.
3. Analysis of the impact of expenditure and social investment on the living conditions of people, in the short, medium and long term.
4. Circulation of information about the structure and implementation of the national budget and social expenditure, as well as its implications in the accomplishment of basic social goals.
The most important contribution of these efforts has been to raise awareness of the inseparable link between national goals and strategic state social policies, which are also linked to the Millennium Development Goals envisaged in the general national expenditure budget.

• Social expenditure in Paraguay and Latin America

The general national expenditure budget is the main tool in the distribution of wealth, in which social expenditure and investment is included, an amount which is directed towards public policies which serve to guarantee the rights to health, education, employment and social security and to reduce poverty amongst the entire population. Given the objectives which make up social expenditure, the quality and quantity of these must be sufficient to guarantee a dignified life for all of the people living in the country.

How much is social expenditure currently in Paraguay?

• The annual social expenditure is 140 dollars per inhabitant, whilst in Latin America in general it is 696 dollars.
• The state invests 66 dollars per year per inhabitant for education, whilst the average for Latin America is 169 dollars.
• The state invests 19 dollars per year per inhabitant for health, whilst the average for Latin America is 133 dollars.

We are not talking about Europe, or other countries much richer and more developed than ourselves, but of our neighbouring countries, yet we remain far behind in terms of what is invested in people today. Although social expenditure increased in the 80s and 90s, since 2000 it has been decreasing. This is why there currently exists a gap between our reality and the Millennium Goals.

• From where can resources be obtained to improve the quantity and quality of social expenditure?

These resources may come from an increase in taxes amongst the public sector, aimed at providing priority social services to the population, as well as redistributing the resources of the national budget. In order to do this it is essential that adequate information is available which would allow major decisions to be made.

• Strategies of the project

The project set out to respond to the need to have periodic and accessible information about social expenditure and investment. In order to do this the following strategies were developed:

r a) Construction of a trustworthy and up-to-date database about the structure and implementation of the national budget.
b) Constant monitoring of the budgetary assignment and implementation of social policy resources. These form part of priority social expenditure, the public policies aimed at:

- fighting chronic malnutrition,
- providing universal access to basic education,
- providing primary healthcare, and
- providing universal access to drinking water.

c) Analysis of the impact of social expenditure on the living conditions of people, in the short, medium and long term.
d) Circulation of information about the structure and implementation of the national budget and social expenditure, as well as their implications in accomplishing basic social goals. This circulation is achieved through a variety of channels, such as, publications, webpages, events, presentations and direct consultations and communication media.