On October 2006, through the Supreme Decree 28.899, Bolivia established a cash grant target to 1.2 million children in elementary public school. Juancito Pinto, as it is called, aims to decrease school drop-out rates, and also to improve access to education. It looks at fostering social development in general. The benefit was designed to tackle extra expenditures that poor families face due to school costs, especially when it comes to buying school materials. It pays a benefit to children who are regularly enrolled in the first to the eighth grades of primary school as an incentive to keep children in school. It offers an amount of BOB200 per year, and isdelivered in two phases, one at the beginning of the school year and the other at the closure of management.
Renta Dignidad, part of the National Development Plan “Bolivia Digna, Soberana, Productiva y Democratica”, is the non-contributory pension which was approved in November 2007. It replaces the Bonosol (the old non-contributory universal pension), and offers an amount of BOB200 for all those over 60 years of age. This represents an improvement on the Bonosol, which used to pay BOB180 for people aged over 65 years. All those over 60 years of age who do not receive any other kind of pension can receive the total benefit. Those who already receive pension or other income receive BOB150 per month. And those who receive any kind of remuneration from the General Treasury of the Nation do not receive the benefit. According to the programme, it represents a historical measure to repair the injustice associated with aged, informal workers, such as housekeepers or taxi drivers. There is no special mention of gender.
The Bono Juana Azurduy de Padilla was launched on 27 May 2009 by a Supreme Decree that will benefit pregnant women or women in labour, and children up to two years old. The programme is implemented by the Ministry of Development Planning and National Health Service. The Bono is designed to achieve the 327 municipalities in Bolivia with a special focus on rural and suburban women to decrease the gap between working mothers in urban areas who received a breastfeeding subsidy in the past and the rural and suburban women. The State grants BOB50 to each of the four prenatal appointments attended by pregnant women and BOB1200 if they have an institutional birth. In addition, women receive an amount of BOB125 for each two-monthly check of their children until they are two years old (36 months).
Programa Desnutrición Cero is one of the main components on the National Development Plan. It aims to eradicate malnutrition by 2010 in children less than two years of age, focusing on 52 municipalities in the first phase, chosen according to the food and nutritional vulnerability index. The programme was established in 2007 by the national government. It enhances children’s diet through the promotion of best practices such as: breastfeeding; provision of complementary food; distribution of a nutritional complement called Nutribebé that supports the child growth; and the strengthening of community participation in activities towards reducing malnutrition rates. The programme was designed to reach newborn children and pregnant women, reducing mortality and malnutrition rates in the country. There is no conditionality related to the programme. However, it is linked to health and food security.
Since 2006, Yo Sí Puedo has been implemented by the Ministry of Education. The programme is enforced by the Law Avelino Siñani – Elizardo Pérez. It is a literacy programme, based on a methodology that uses audiovisual languages using television, VCR, educational videotapes and notes with exercises. The programme is used in several other countries and can be easily adaptable to different sociocultural contexts. It aims to strengthen the literacy process through the implementation of a National Plan for Post-Literacy and therefore eradicate the rates of illiteracy among the most vulnerable people in Bolivia.
Mi Primer Empleo Digno is a pilot project of training and internship employment from the Ministry of Employment, and is for young people between the ages of 18 to 24. The pilot encompasses a three month training programme, a three month internship and one month employment in a company. This first phase will be implemented in four cities: La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. The beneficiary will receive an amount of BOB15 per day during the three months of training and BOB680 for the three months of internship. The programme was designed for young and vulnerable people in order to guarantee them an income. The condition is to complete primary education, as it aims to increase labor market inclusion between young people (18 to 24 years old) through a skill-building programme. In a larger context it will strengthen the implementation process of a Social Protection Policy in Bolivia, and create more solid methods to support poor and vulnerable people and their access to income and employment.
Aguayo para un parto sin riesgos Programme started in 2007, by the Centre of Studies and International Cooperation (CESI), as the Programme of Volunteer Cooperation Uniterra, and the Mancomunidad de Municipios Aymaras sin Fronteras. It has established a project to prevent infant and maternal mortality in the municipality of Curahuara de Carangas. The idea is to humanize childbirth and to give attention to women in labor, respecting the local and indigenous traditions. The programme is very important in order to guarantee pregnant women’s health and the health of their babies, while respecting traditional systems. The project intends to improve maternal and infant health through the development of local centres for community health. It also intends to increase the access and the use of health services among pregnant women, increase the knowledge and training of women, and relate traditional and alopatic medicine.
The Desayuno Escolar Programme aims to reinforce child feeding and school links. They provide a school breakfast that consists of a balanced diet of dairy products, vegetables, fruits and cereals. It was designed to reinforce the importance of a healthy children’s diet, and schools links. This programme is one of the pillars for fighting child malnutrition, school drop-outs and to guarantee local employment across municipalities.
The Programa de Vivenda Social e Solidaria was created by the Supreme Decree 28794, from 12 July 2006. The Ministry Of Public Works and Housing Services and the Vice-Ministry Of Housing and Urban Development are responsible for the programme. It consists of two major sub-programmes: one aimed at reducing the quantitative housing deficit and the other at fighting the qualitative deficit. The qualitative deficit is to be reduced through three sub-programmes: Vivienda saludable (healthy housing); Vivienda social productiva (social productive house); and house improvement and expansion. These programmes have a non-reimbursable subsidy to help beneficiaries build their houses. Moreover, there are various sub-programmes that have specific characteristics and requirements for specific groups. According to each of them, there are differentiated systems of funding to families with monthly income ranging from BOB300 to BOB1,500. This programme is designed to assist with the housing needs of the most vulnerable people in Bolivia. The Plan was designed to offer accessible and low cost housing for the Bolivian population. Moreover, it aims to give equal opportunities to obtain decent housing, which raises the quality of life and contributes to family integration.
