On April 21, the Unpaid Care, Disability and Gender Transformative Approach Program was officially launched, a proposal that proposes structural changes in the care system. The initiative, promoted by United Nations agencies in conjunction with the government, the private sector and social organizations, seeks to redistribute care work, make its economic value visible and transform the role that women have historically assumed.

The program will be implemented by UN Women, Unfpa, Unicef and the UNDP – the latter as a coordinating entity -, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development (Mides), the National Secretariat for Disability (Senadis) and key actors in the public and private sector.

According to the 2023 Census, more than 720,000 people in the country require care. Of these, 173,000 have some type of disability, and more than three thousand children with disabilities are outside the educational system. Faced with these data, the program seeks to generate concrete and sustainable responses.

“This initiative represents a collective commitment to guide public policy towards the transformation of care systems in Panama,” said Ana Patricia Graça, resident coordinator of the United Nations System in the country. In his opinion, it is necessary to recognize the social and economic value of this work, which still falls mostly on women.

Among the planned actions of the program are the generation of national evidence, the development of georeferenced mappings to know the supply and demand of care, and the implementation of pilot programs. The approach covers the entire life cycle, from early childhood to older adulthood, and focuses on ensuring a dignified and independent life for people with disabilities.

Panama is part of a group of five countries selected globally to develop this initiative, along with Colombia, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique. The program is supported by the Global Disability Fund, an international alliance dedicated to promoting the rights of people with disabilities.

The launch of this initiative marks the beginning of an agenda that puts those who care and those who require care at the center. It also opens the door to rethinking how cities, public services and inclusion policies are built, with a gender and equity perspective.