Paraguay

Financing

Language English

COVID-19

New partnerships and financial instruments help tackle COVID-19

The Government of Paraguay has taken swift action to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on saving lives, strict lockdown measures helped flatten the curve. However, these measures caused a slowdown of the economy with the informal sector being particularly hard hit. A large proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises are at risk of going out of business and workers in the informal sector with no savings or other source of income could fall into poverty or become food insecure.

UNDP'S Response

UNDP is partnering with the National SDG Commission, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an unprecedented Public-Private Partnership (PPP) facilitating integrated responses to the health and socio-economic crises.

With UNDP's support, Paraguay is the first country in the region to adopt SDG Bonds, which will support the COVID recovery phase by financing projects that both stimulate the economy and contribute to social and environmental gains. To translate national SDG needs and policy priorities into actionable investment opportunities areas for businesses, UNDP brought together stakeholders from the public and private sectors which together created an ‘SDG Investor Map’ that can help chart more sustainable pathways. Participants highlighted that convening contributors from different sectors with different entry points was crucial to identify solutions that are both market ready and attractive to investors on the one hand, and advance national sustainable development policy priorities on the other.

In partnership with the national SDG Commission and the National Innovation Strategy, UNDP also undertook a social innovation competition, Moirũ, to identify and support sustainable agriculture initiatives led by women to support initiatives that focus on food security resilience post-COVID with resources and mentoring.