PRODERE

Programme Strategy

PRODERE was a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency UN programme for displaced persons, refugees and returnees in Central America. PRODERE was funded by the Government of Italy and was implemented between 1990 and 1995 as part of the international community’s effort to consolidate the peace process in Central America. The guiding principle behind PRODERE's activities is the practical application of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its strategy consists of combining efforts of integrating solidarity at the national and international levels in order to achieve social development objectives through:

Integration, between the various dimensions of human rights (civil-political and social-economic-cultural). The promotion and protection of human rights, apart from being a specific component of PRODERE's activities, is present in all its initiatives, and is based on the principle of the indivisibility of human rights. PRODERE has contributed to the documenting of individuals and the securing of property titles. It has promoted the organization of permanent local branches of human‑rights offices, and has facilitated the local administration of justice. At the same time, the programme's activities have created new opportunities in the fields of health, education, and the resumption of productive activities. This integral approach includes the defense of civil and political rights, as well as the promotion of economic, social, and cultural rights, based on the conviction that social development and economic growth cannot be achieved without the respect of human rights.

Integration and reconciliation of conflicting positions. In Nicaragua, the municipal technical committees promoted by PRODERE ensured that development decisions were based on consensus. Within these committees, the various opposing sectors‑national resistance movements, Sandinistas, and demobilized groups from both sides join mayors' and producers' associations to determine the recipients of PRODERE's investments and to define a common future. PRODERE has thus helped to bring about reconciliation between opposing parties, particularly in areas of conflict or areas where peace has been restored. The promotion of local development committees in each community, municipality, and department has been the vehicle for this reconciliation.

Integration of the efforts of the state and of civil society. In lxcán, Guatemala, the Minister of Health, with the support of PRODERE, introduced for the first time local health systems (SILOS), in collaboration with local residents, NGOs, and local authorities. SILOS are the reason why 50,000 Guatemalans who had taken refuge from the war in Mexico have been able to return to their land under acceptable health-care conditions. In lxcán, as in other areas that have suffered war-related social disintegration, the presence of the state has been mainly in the form of the military. PRODERE has facilitated the presence of civil institutions of the state in these areas, promoting the creation of mechanisms for consensus and decision-making in which both civil society and local authorities participate. In support of the implementation of the governments' decentralization policies in each sector-namely, health, education, human rights, etc.-support was given to the orderly establishment of territorial service networks in which coordinated planning between authorities and the local population was used as the principal instrument for determining the allocation of investment.

Integration of emergency and development activities. In general, PRODERE has made a systematic effort to avoid isolated investments. The construction of a school, for example, is only one step in the establishment of a local education system. This strategy of integrating emergency and development activities-supported by broad participation by the community, government, local authorities, and NGOs is the cornerstone of the institutional sustainability of the programme's initiatives. In Chalatenango, El Salvador, when the peace accords were still being negotiated, a credit scheme was established based on communal financing committees (COFICOLES) in coordination with local NGOs. Its primary function was to rehabilitate the production of basic grains after twelve years of war. Subsequently, these committees became locally managed operations, which today provide loans and technical assistance to more than 10,000 families in the area. In this way, the responses to the urgent needs of repatriated and demobilized persons or of populations living in extreme poverty also contribute to both reconstruction and long-term development.

Integration of social and economic development. The programme works simultaneously in five basic areas: health, education, local economic development, human rights, and territorial development. This integrated approach is based on the conviction that social and economic development are necessarily interdependent. The complex interrelation between the different sectoral investments is managed through a coordinated local planning methodology, whereby consultation processes are undertaken between the various social actors, leading eventually to development plans. The coordinated plans thus formulated at each one of the territorial levels-municipal, departmental/regional, and national‑define the minimum development objectives, and the projects that can be financed from national funds and through international cooperation.

Integration between national and local priorities. In its efforts to create employment, PRODERE seeks to combine national macroeconomic policies with local priorities and potential. The promotion of entrepreneurial activities requires the diversification of the productive base through economically viable activities. This goal is pursued by matching resources and traditional technologies with the potential of the modern sectors of the economy. This process of matching cannot be spontaneous. It can only be successful if the efforts of public entities are coordinated with those of the private sector. Guided by these criteria, PRODERE, with the support of the International Labour Organization, promoted the establishment of local economic development agencies (LEDAs).

Integration of international cooperation and national programmes. The integrated approach adopted by the programme permitted countries to make the best use of various sources of bilateral, multilateral, governmental and non‑governmental cooperation within a single framework-as a result of coordinated development planning by the same national protagonists. This was the case, for example, of the cooperation between the United Nations system and the local health systems. The SILOS were promoted throughout the world by the World Health Organization, and were adopted by the countries of Central America-particularly Nicaragua and El Salvador -- as the cornerstone of their health policies. PRODERE not only supported the SILOS, but also introduced similar local systems in the fields of education, economic development, and promotion of human rights. These mechanisms have been promoted with support from the International Labour Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Using this same approach and exploiting synergies from the matching of resources and expertise, a series of initiatives based on decentralized cooperation between local governments has been initiated with the support of UTD, an agency of the World Federation of United Cities.

Methodological Approaches

The approaches that have characterized PRODERE at the operational level are: its territorial and non-discriminatory focus; its emphasis on development, including development within the context of emergency situations; and its strengthening of local management capacities. These guidelines are translated into action whereby the resources obtained from international sources are combined with national efforts in geographical areas marked by high levels of poverty and social exclusion. They provide not only physical investments in infrastructure, but also, above all, support mechanisms that strengthen local capacities in the areas of management and development administration. At the local level, they seek to build consensus for decision-making between the state and civil society and to help harmonize the various centralized sectoral programmes, thereby strengthening the capacity of local administrations.

Main Results

The simultaneous management of the political, social, technical, and financial dimensions has enabled PRODERE to achieve an efficient level of investment and implementation. The direct and indirect beneficiaries account for 75 per cent of the nearly 2 million people who live in the area of coverage. These beneficiaries have formed more than 1,100 local development committees at various levels. In productive terms, PRODERE has financed over $15 million in loans and provided technical assistance to supervise them, thereby creating or maintaining 37,000 jobs for the benefit of small agricultural and non-agricultural producers. Nearly 170,000 persons have also benefited from legal advice and assistance with documentation. The programme has constructed or rehabilitated more than 12 per cent of all roadways in the area of coverage, and has provided environmental health projects, potable water, and sewerage disposal services to 14 per cent of the population of the programme area. In the field of education, it has rehabilitated, constructed, or equipped 20 per cent of the schools in the area of coverage. The beneficiaries of its adult literacy programmes account for 6 per cent of the total adult population. In addition to rehabilitation and construction, PRODERE has also provided equipment for approximately 170 health establishments. More than half of the local health personnel in the area have been trained. All of these achievements have been possible through coordinated and integrated intervention in clearly defined areas; this intervention created the spaces and local mechanisms required to coordinate public sector and civil society input into the management, administration, and implementation of the projects.

Conclusion

PRODERE was completed in 1995. From this experience, four lessons could be drawn. First, facing up to the problems of poverty by focusing efforts in well-defined priority areas. Second, promoting employment using mechanisms to mobilize local potential and resources that have been the object of agreement between the public sector and the private sector. Third, contributing to the struggle against social exclusion by equipping local actors with the capacity genuinely to participate in decision­making. Fourth, promoting a new strategic understanding between government, civil society, and international cooperation agencies that is based on solidarity and is aimed at achieving sustainable social development.

Source: World Summit on Social Development Special Event, Proceedings from the Conference - Building a Consensus on International Cooperation for Social Development, a Focus on Societies in Crises, Copenhagen, March 7, 1995

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