The aim is to establish a dynamic digital system that promotes the social and economic inclusion of the most vulnerable
WASHINGTON, August 9, 2024 - The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved a credit for Peru to modernize the National Social Registry (SINAFO), whose main mechanism is the social household registry. The project will help the country move toward an integrated social policy information system that is more inclusive, dynamic, and interoperable and can be used for regular programs and emergency responses.
The US$55 million credit will support the construction of a state-of-the-art information system with digital tools such as digitization of data collection, remote access to some services, artificial intelligence for data analysis, and real-time interconnection with State databases.
The project aims to transform access to social programs in the country by improving the capacity of local registration units run by local governments and further strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Social Inclusion and Development (MIDIS) to lead and manage SINAFO. It will also contribute to a more transparent and efficient allocation of social spending.
Over the past two decades, poverty and economic vulnerability have become an urban phenomenon in Peru. More than 70 percent of the 10 million Peruvians living in poverty currently reside in urban areas. The economic slowdown, recurring shocks, and climate variability threaten to further reduce the incomes of the poorest households across the country.
A modern, high-quality social registry with broad coverage will help identify persons most in need of social protection services and benefits: rural households, newly impoverished and vulnerable groups in urban areas, female-headed households, households with a person with disabilities, and persons exposed to the impact of climate change.
"Social registries are the backbone of social protection systems. They play a critical role in the program implementation chain and help organize and connect national and local service provision. We have worked for over three decades with many countries in the region to help them establish and consolidate their registries in many countries in the region," said Issam Abousleiman, World Bank Country Director for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. "A comprehensive social registry improves the poverty reduction impacts of social programs, enhances the efficiency of public spending on social protection, and boosts the State's capacity to respond to shocks," he concluded.
This is how the World Bank supports the government of Peru, by financing the digitization and modernization of the social household registry with a view to closing the coverage gap and providing 9.1 million households with high-quality, reliable information in a timely manner.
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