Governments from the Union of South American Nations approved on Tuesday an immediate two-year plan aimed at reducing poverty and social inequality, Peru’s state news agency Andina reported.
Ministers of Social Development from Unasur are scheduled to meet in Lima prior to the meeting of presidents from South America in the Peruvian capital.
“We all agree that social development is the key driver for progress in our nations and the region as a whole,” Peru’s Minister of Social Inclusion and Development, Carolina Trivelli, said.
The agreement will be submitted to the head-of-states when they meet during the summit in Lima on November 30. The agreement addresses malnutrition, as well as social and economic development, among other issues.
In addition to Peru, representatives from Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela participated in the work meetings.
“One of Unasur’s main concerns is to work on more and better proposals for social development that allows us to not only become a society with better justice, but also a society with the capacity to exercise the law and citizenship,” Trivelli said.
While Latin America has made strides in recent years in lowering poverty thanks largely to a global demand for commodities that has boosted the economy, inequality is still prevalent. Poverty remains a major problem in many rural areas, as well as the peripheries of urban centers.
