WASHINGTON, May 22, 2025.- The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a new loan to improve the quality of cross-sectoral social protection in Chile, targeting 2.2 million persons in the most vulnerable groups.
The US$150 million program, which will be implemented by Chile’s Ministry of Social Development and Family and the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality, will help make social protection interventions more inclusive, effective, and efficient. The program aims to help Chile move ahead with building a comprehensive support system that coordinates the various services and benefits to better meet the specific needs of each person and family.
Javiera Toro, Chile’s Minister of Social Development and Family, noted that “we are very grateful for the process carried out by the Ministry's teams together with the World Bank. Strengthening the social protection system is at the center of our government's concerns and this project allows us, with a comprehensive and medium-term view, to deepen a path of greater social justice and overcoming inequalities”.
Beneficiaries include the most vulnerable groups, such as those living in poverty, children and adolescents, dependents and their caregivers, persons affected primarily by climate-related shocks, and women victims of gender-based violence.
“For many years the World Bank has been supporting Chile in its efforts to improve its social protection system, thanks to which we learned important lessons we can use as an example for many countries. Now we’re taking another step in this collaboration, using an innovative approach that is focused on each beneficiary and will allow us to help reduce inequality,” said Jean-Marc Arbogast, World Bank Group Country Manager in Chile.
Innovative measures for cross-sectoral social protection
The project focuses on three action areas. The first area aims to increase the inclusiveness of the social protection system, incorporating children and adolescents, as well as persons with different levels of dependency and unpaid caregivers. Currently, unpaid domestic and care work accounts for 25.6 percent of Chile’s GDP, and 17.5 percentage points of this is contributed by women.
The second area focuses on enhancing the effectiveness of the social protection system, promoting employment for the most vulnerable and providing better assistance and support to persons affected primarily by climate-related shocks and to women victims of gender-based violence.
Chile´s Minister of Women and Gender Equity, Antonia Orellana, emphasized that "this funding allows us to make decisive progress in the implementation of the Law to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women, through the implementation of the Integrated System for the Management of Cases of Gender Violence. This tool will strengthen traceability, inter-institutional coordination and the state's response to violence, especially at the municipal level. We thank the World Bank for its support to the commitment of the State to improve the quality of care for women throughout the country".
The third area seeks to increase the efficiency of management and information systems, with a view to reducing transaction and time costs for users and beneficiaries of the social protection system. To this end, the Ministry of Social Development and Family will create a one-stop shop that will provide access to almost 100 services, including social programs, cash transfers, and data to identify the social needs of the population.
Last Updated: May 23, 2025
