The World Bank (WB) has worked together with successive Chilean administrations in areas such as energy, infrastructure, water, education, social protection, health and others, to design public policies aimed at improving the lives of Chileans. Below are but a few recent examples of this work.
The Ministry of Education, based on a simulation tool provided by the WB, could measure the impact of COVID-19 on learning and schooling in Chile, in 2020. Later, in 2021, the WB education specialists systematized and reviewed Chile's educational policies and measures in the context of the pandemic.
With WB support, the Ministry of Health is carrying out an international comparative evaluation of the National Immunization Program and a study on how routine health services were disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Another study focused on the financing of high-cost treatments in Chile.
In coordination with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the WB is carrying out the Local Social Management (GSL is the Spanish acronym) project, a new methodology for the unified delivery of social services and benefits in municipalities. A one stop shop gives officials access to beneficiaries’ various allowed programs and subsidies. Better social care is thereby delivered, in addition to permitting more efficient public spending. The program is planned to include a new module for employment and employability support and as a tool to support the design of local child services offices. This will allow for the delivery of integrated services to children and their families.
Furthermore, the World Bank has extensively supported Chile's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality and face the effects of drought and the impacts of climate change. Together with the ministries of Environment and Finance, a study ran simulations on the macroeconomic effects of adopting climate change mitigation policies, and demonstrate their beneficial impact on the economy, both in the short and long term.
The World Bank has also worked extensively to address the country's water challenges as part of efforts to further development and resilience. In this regard, it has supported the setting up of the new sub-secretariat for water resources, among other efforts.
Since 2020, with the support of the Spanish Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean (SFLAC) and the initiative for the development of carbon pricing instruments "Partnership for Market Readiness" (PMR), the World Bank is supporting various components of Chile's National Green Hydrogen Strategy. A study contributed to designing the guidelines to set up Chile’s green hydrogen certification scheme compatible with the international and national markets. Another study focused on the safety standards for the use of green hydrogen in mining, among others.
An additional field of collaboration is the prevention of gender violence. To support the Ministry for Women and Gender Equality, we prepared a cross-section diagnosis to identify the main critical issues hampering the network of state services from providing an adequate and timely response to survivors of violence against women. This would help to draw a roadmap to set up an integrated case management platform for the prevention of gender violence across the country and set up coordination systems for state action to help thousands of gender violence victims. Initial tasks to build the integrated platform started in 2022, together with the National Service for Women and Gender Equality.
Chile’s experience and learnings have been shared with other countries in the region and around the world facing similar development challenges. Chile has hosted delegations from Ecuador, Pakistan, Cambodia, Palestine, Romania, Bulgaria, Nicaragua, Guatemala, the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger interested in learning about Chile’s experience in social protection.
Last Updated: Apr 03, 2023