New civil society partnership launched in Latin America

09 December 2008

A new partnership launched today (9 December) will improve the way that governments, civil society and individuals work together to tackle poverty in Latin America.

The Programme Partnership Agreement (PPA) demonstrates DFID's commitment to working with International Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the region. DFID is changing the way it supports Latin American development, and the significant increase in funding delivered through the PPA is part of this.

Latin America has made good progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and is on track to halve extreme poverty by 2015. But despite these positive achievements many development challenges remain.

Even though the region's countries are middle income, 4 out of 10 men, women and children live below minimum living standards and 88 million live in extreme poverty. In addition the global economic crisis, combined with the dependence of much of the region on primary exports, means that there is a strong likelihood of progress being halted - and even reversed - in some countries over the next few years.

Making a wider impact

DFID’s partners in Latin America are: ActionAid, CAFOD, CARE, Christian Aid, HelpAge International, International HIV and AIDS Alliance, Oxfam, Plan International, Progressio, Save the Children, World Vision, and WWF. Through working together and embracing different approaches, DFID and its partner CSOs will be able to make wider impact than would be possible from working alone.

A new booklet Working in Partnership in Latin America(2mb) shows the impact on people’s lives that the partnership aims to deliver. And read UK Minister for International Development Mike Foster's speech at the launch event for more details.