IDB launches BID Cuida, a care plan aimed at reducing inequality

Santiago, Mar 27 (EFE).- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on Thursday launched BID Cuida, an initiative to improve care systems for dependent populations in a bid to foster economic growth and reduce inequality.

The launch took place during the IDB’s annual meetings in the Chilean capital, Santiago, which began Wednesday with thematic seminars. From Friday through Sunday, the meetings will host the 65th IDB Board of Governors Assembly and the 39th assembly of IDB Invest, the bank’s private-sector arm.

“One thing all families have in common is that there is always someone who needs help,” IDB President Ilan Goldfajn said at the event. He explained that care refers not only to support for children and dependent elderly people but also to domestic work, which “goes far beyond the household and is a vital economic resource.”

Diana Rodríguez, the IDB’s special advisor on gender and diversity, told reporters that care services are “the engine of the economy,” enabling all other forms of work to take place.

Despite growing awareness of its importance, care work remains largely invisible and unequally distributed. If all such labor were paid, it would represent, on average, 21% of GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the multilateral bank’s data.

The sector is marked by high levels of informal employment, low wages, and limited opportunities for professional development. Estimates suggest that by 2050 the region will need 14 million professional caregivers for older adults—nearly five times the current number.

Women disproportionately bear the burden of care work, both paid and unpaid, limiting the time they can dedicate to formal employment and negatively impacting household income.

The launch of BID Cuida comes at a time when Latin America and the Caribbean are aging at an “unprecedented” pace. According to the IDB, eight million elderly people in the region currently require care, and that number is expected to triple by 2050.

“This is contrary to the image we used to have of a Latin America full of children running around,” Rodríguez said.

BID Cuida aims to develop comprehensive care systems that organize service provision, ensure providers meet quality standards, and promote formalization, professionalization, and certification opportunities.

Its strategy is built on three pillars: strengthening institutional frameworks, increasing investment in quality services, and promoting a more equitable distribution of care responsibilities.

Opportunities for formalizing care work include standardized contracts, caregiver registration on platforms that match supply and demand, and the creation of cooperatives.

According to the IDB, quality services benefit all stakeholders: children show improved learning and health outcomes, healthcare costs decline due to reduced hospital use, and workplace absenteeism falls.

Public-private collaboration is key to achieving these goals. While governments fund part of long-term care services, most are provided by private actors. The private sector can drive innovation, but public administrations must facilitate entrepreneurship.

The IDB already provides technical and financial assistance across Latin America and the Caribbean in various aspects of care, including governance and financing, service delivery, data, regulation, and caregiver support.

But this new plan, Rodríguez summarized, is broader in scope: until now, support “was more isolated and mainly in the public sector.”

BID Cuida, the IDB says, is not a one-size-fits-all or top-down model. It responds to existing demand and does not come with pre-set funding.

The bank describes the initiative as a “framework” that enables it to work with partners. Loan conditions are negotiated individually with each country. EFE

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General view of the IDB initiative, Expanding quality care to drive growth and reduce inequality, during the second day of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the IDB and IDB Invest Boards of Governors in Santiago, Chile. EFE/Elvis González

President of the ASTUR Foundation and former IDB president Enrique Iglesias takes part in the second day of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the IDB and IDB Invest Boards of Governors in Santiago, Chile. EFE/Elvis González

Special Advisor on Gender and Diversity to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Diana Rodríguez Franco, takes part in the second day of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the IDB and IDB Invest Boards of Governors, this Thursday in Santiago, Chile. EFE/Elvis González

Brazil’s National Secretary for Care and Family at the Ministry of Social Development, Family, and the Fight Against Hunger, Lais Abramo, speaks during the second day of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the IDB and IDB Invest Boards of Governors in Santiago, Chile. EFE/Elvis González

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn speaks as part of the IDB initiative Expanding quality care to drive growth and reduce inequality during the second day of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the IDB and IDB Invest Boards of Governors in Santiago, Chile. EFE/Elvis González

IDB Governor and Costa Rican Finance Minister Nogui Acosta Jaén takes part in the second day of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the IDB and IDB Invest Boards of Governors in Santiago, Chile. EFE/Elvis González