There are serious constraints to guaranteeing adequate housing in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. The housing shortage problem is a result of (i) historically insufficient stock of available houses for the population - i.e. quantitative housing deficit; (ii) new demand (e.g. household formation); and (iii) inadequate condition of existing units, in terms of space, construction materials and access to public services – i.e. qualitative housing deficit.

Capacity building for government officials of the Province of Salta was done during November and December of 2022. Main beneficiaries receiving the knowledge were officials from the Secretary of Mines and Energy (SME) and the General Directorate for Energy and Mining Resources (DGREM, in Spanish) in the province of Salta, both entities responsible for the governance and regulation of all mining projects.  The exchange aimed at helping monitor Salta’s staff reforms to modernize the way mining data is handled for regulatory and oversight functions.

Climate Action Peer Exchange (CAPE) is a forum for peer learning, knowledge sharing, and mutual advisory support. It brings together ministers and senior technical specialists from finance ministries across the world, as well as World Bank staff and other international experts, to discuss the fiscal challenges involved in implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) established under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

In the ongoing reforms of the education sector in Guatemala and Dominican Republic (DR), there have been challenges in achieving clarity and consensus on the role and responsibilities of school principals. Both Guatemala and DR also face challenges with capacity and technical knowledge needed to professionally develop school principals and school leaders in the face of learning crisis in the countries. Guatemala and DR are two of the lowest performers in the regional learning assessments in both primary and secondary education.

The Government of Argentina (GOA) launched in 2016 the first nation-wide demand-side housing supply program for first-home buyers (the Linea Solucion Casa Propia Program, SCP). The World Bank, as part of the Integrated Habitat and Housing Project (P159929), is supporting the SCP. The SCP provides a lump-sum subsidy to eligible households, which, together with a saving amount and a mortgage loan provided by the open market, is used for the acquisition of a housing unit.

To increase its limited knowledge, skills, and implementation know-how with regards to science, technology, and innovation (STI) systems, the Government of Bolivia engaged in an exchange with the more experienced Argentina and Uruguay. The Bolivian experts learned the importance of a proper regulatory framework and sectoral collaboration that ultimately helped contribute to the development of a National STI Plan.

Challenge

To improve the management and delivery of health services to its citizens, and address equity, efficiency, and access gaps in its public health sector, the Government of Nicaragua engaged in an exchange with Argentina. They learned new payment mechanisms that will help improve the quality of preventative care, and provision of basic health care to the poorest and most vulnerable.

Challenge

The Governments of the Republic of Armenia and Tatarstan shared a similar aim: to improve the quality of their respective education system through the use of information and communications technology (ICT). Uruguay and Argentina were identified as the appropriate knowledge providers in helping Armenia and Tatarstan achieve better outcomes in education through ICT use by training teachers, designing e-contents and materials, and providing technical support to schools.

Challenge