Ecuador Has the Best Social and Development Policies, Says UN

Ecuador has created some of Latin America's best social development and poverty reduction policies over the last few years, according to the United Nations Development Program.

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The UNDP regional representative, Jessica Faieta, highlighted some of Ecuador's achievements in her last conference in the South American country Thursday. Among them include major advancements in poverty reduction, education, access to health care, and empowering women, among others.

Faieta added that these advancements continued despite the country going through a period of economic deceleration, caused mostly by the plunge in oil prices.

“Ecuador has one of Latin America’s most innovative, effective and interesting social agendas from the perspective of the United Nations and it is precisely in a moment for focusing its social and economic policies to safeguard people,” Faieta said in the framework of the Ecuadorean legislative accountability.

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According to the UNDP representative, Ecuador has created policies and laws focused on benefiting the most vulnerable people in society, and protecting them from setbacks in their progress. These have resulted in some of the best social policies in the Latin American region, which consists of over 30 countries.

Some of these include the Organic Law for Youth Work, Working Hours Regulation, and Unemployment Insurance.

Despite the current economic downturn that has resulted in job losses across the country, Ecuador's social policies have helped cushion these losses, making it “one of the most resilient countries in the region,” added Faieta.