This paper introduces the concept of Resilient Human Development, a framework that adapts the human development approach to today’s reality of recurring, overlapping crises and interlinked stressors—climate, economic, political, and social shocks. It is the first background paper of the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Regional Human Development Report 2025.

Social protection plays a crucial role in achieving sustainable development. At its core, sustainable development aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Social protection mechanisms contribute to this goal by reducing poverty, fostering social inclusion, and promoting economic stability.

Latin America and the Caribbean is immersed in a care crisis that is having a disproportionate impact on women and especially those subject to various forms of intersectional exclusion. 

This proposal for a Multidimensional Poverty Index with a focus on women seeks to call attention to the need to have information in surveys that allows poverty to be measured with a gender perspective.

Digitalization is transforming the world but also represents challenges. The pandemic highlighted digital weaknesses in LAC. Despite progress, a significant digital divide remains, worsening inequalities. To overcome this, there need to be investments beyond access and infrastructure.

UNDP has been a strategic partner of national governments, donors, and international financial institutions in the development of social protection systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This policy note addresses the experience of the pilot design and implementation of a Multidimensional Risk Index System with a gender perspective to: i) strengthen community resilience, ii) improve early warning systems, and iii) ensure the protection and economic autonomy of women in vulnerable situations.

This paper analyzes a regional approach to social protection in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), grounded in the universal principle that all individuals facing similar risks should receive equitable coverage, irrespective of labor status. 

The present document searches to reflect on the results of recovery processes, considering a transformative and resilience-building approach, and analyzing its impact on the drivers of disaster risk. 

This note aims to place the creation of a USPS at the center of the fiscal discussion in the region. To this end, the following section analyzes the importance for the countries of the region to transition to an USPS, to break the trap that combines inequality and low growth.