Ending Poverty: Recalibrating Strategies, Renewing Commitments

October 5, 2026

Event Details

Date

October 19, 2026

Time

8:30 - 10:30 AM (Panama)

Location

In-person and online

How to accelerate poverty reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean and sustain progress in the face of new challenges? On October 19, 2026, in Panama City, UNDP and CAF — the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean — will hold the regional poverty conference "End Poverty: Recalibrating Strategies, Renewing Commitments".

The meeting will bring together political leaders, authorities, experts, and representatives of international organizations to share evidence, exchange experiences and explore new public policy tools. Through conferences and dialogues, it will address how to strengthen poverty reduction strategies, improve the use of data and connect social policies with the agendas of productivity, sustainability and development.

With in-person and online participation, the conference seeks to renew the regional commitment to eradicating poverty in all its forms and place it at the center of public debate and national priorities

Agenda

Panama time

8:30am – 10:30am:

Welcome Remarks

H.E. Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama.

Opening

H.E. Beatriz Carles de Arango, Minister of Social Development of the Republic of Panama.

Positioning poverty at the center of public debate

Michelle Muschett, Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Sergio Díaz-Granados, Executive President, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).

Keynote Address

Nora Lustig, Office of the President, El Colegio de México, and Professor Emerita and founding Director of the Commitment to Equity Institute at Tulane University, where she holds the Samuel Z. Stone Chair in Latin American Economics.

Inaugural Dialogue

Gabriel Boric Font, former President of the Republic of Chile.
Álvaro Uribe Vélez, former President of the Republic of Colombia.

Moderator: Michelle Muschett, Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

10:30am – 11:00am:

Break

11:00am – 12:00pm:

High-level dialogue on the fight against poverty

Panel discussion with senior officials from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Beatriz Carles de Arango, Minister of Social Development of the Republic of Panama.
Roberto Angulo, Secretary of Social Integration of Bogotá
Yolanda Nuñez, Social Affairs Coordinator, Presidential Commission for Operations and the Government Cabinet.

Moderator: Bettina Woll, Deputy Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

12:00pm – 12:30pm

Presentation of the UNDP/CAF Chair on Poverty Reduction Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean

Andrea Repetto, Director of the School of Government at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and current holder of the UNDP/CAF Chair on Poverty Reduction Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Moderator: Daniel Ortega, Interim Knowledge Manager, Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).

12:30pm – 1:30pm

Lunch

1:30pm – 2:30pm

Sustainable Poverty Reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities in the Global Context

Luis Felipe López-Calva, Senior Adviser in the Prosperity Vertical, World Bank Group.

Discussant: Andrea Repetto, Director of the School of Government at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and current holder of the UNDP/CAF Chair on Poverty Reduction Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Moderator: Almudena Fernández, Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

2:30pm – 3:30pm

Book presentation: “Reducing Multidimensional Poverty in Latin America: Diagnostics, Profiles, and Policy Lessons”

Moderator: Xavier Mancero, Chief, Social Statistics Unit, ECLAC.

3:30pm – 3:45pm

Break

3:45pm – 5:00pm

Multilateral Organizations’ initiatives to address the challenge of overcoming poverty

Almudena Fernández, Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Daniel Ortega, Interim Knowledge Manager, Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).
Alberto Arenas, Director, Social Development Division (ECLAC).
Carlos Rodríguez Castelán, Manager, Poverty and Equity Global Practice for Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank.
Samuel Berlinski, Principal Economist, Research Department, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Moderator: Adriana Camacho, Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).