[{"bbox": [96, 153, 1134, 207], "category": "Text", "text": "care policies, respectively. Additionally formal and innovative entrepreneurial activities, including care activities, will be supported by providing the initial capital."}, {"bbox": [96, 218, 1134, 404], "category": "Text", "text": "Several institutions will be involved in the actions from the public and private sectors, the international cooperation and civil society organisations that are relevant to labour policy and the National Employment Plan. This Plan will be strengthened by supporting the implementation of existing programmes and generating new relevant ones. It is proposed to work with several public duty-bearers as key partners in the articulation and coordination of public programmes that promote access to and formalisation of employment. The Action will equally work with business associations, civil society organisations, universities and academic centers, as well as international cooperation actors, with recognition and legitimacy in the Paraguayan labour field."}, {"bbox": [96, 417, 1134, 498], "category": "Text", "text": "By ensuring that the Action supports the generation of employment, it is intended to have an impact on the economic inclusion indicators and social welfare, which translates into the reduction of inequalities, the reduction of poverty and the improvement of living conditions."}, {"bbox": [96, 508, 1134, 586], "category": "Text", "text": "The programme involves several components: 1) awareness raising and articulation, 2) capital formation and entrepreneurship, 3) advocacy in public incentive policies, 4) institutional strengthening of management and coordination."}, {"bbox": [96, 601, 1115, 628], "category": "Text", "text": "The foreseen duration is 5 (five) years using the project modality with an estimated budget of EUR 10,000,000."}, {"bbox": [86, 643, 498, 672], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 1.3 Zone benefiting from the Action"}, {"bbox": [86, 684, 980, 712], "category": "Text", "text": "The Action shall be carried out in Paraguay. The country is included in the list of ODA recipients."}, {"bbox": [86, 727, 322, 758], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [86, 777, 233, 803], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [96, 820, 1134, 953], "category": "Text", "text": "Paraguay is a politically and macro-economically stable country with a solid economic growth until 2019 (4% of GDP growth on average) that contributed to raising living standards of Paraguayans. With a per capita income of over USD 5,700, Paraguay is classified as an upper middle-income country. The country has a considerable endowment of natural resources, enormous energy potential, ample fertile land and a young population (50% of the population is under 30 years old)."}, {"bbox": [96, 965, 1134, 1443], "category": "Text", "text": "Informality and limited diversification of the economy hinder sustainable and inclusive development. Inequalities persist and have been further exacerbated by COVID-19 and recent inflation. The country ranks 105 out of 191 countries on the UNDP development index. Despite a reduction of income inequality between 2003 and 2020, significant inequality persists. 1% of the population holds almost 20% of national income, with the top 10% holding more than 50%². Indigenous people (120,000 representing 1.6% of the population) are the most affected by different types of inequalities. In Latin America, Paraguay ranks as the country with the fifth highest income inequality in 2023, in addition to the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), among 11 countries, the country together with Haiti, recorded a drop of 1.1% and 3.2%, respectively (CEPAL, 2023). The gender pay gap in Paraguay is a source of inequality. In 2023, Paraguay scored 0.7 in the gender gap index, the second highest one since 2014. This shows a gender gap of approximately 30% (women are 30% less likely than men to have equal opportunities). During this period, the gender gap in the political empowerment area in Paraguay amounted to 88%³. The integration of women in the workplace occurs unequally, with markedly different rates of economic activity or effective or potential involvement in the labour market between men (87.1%) and women (62.0%), 25.1 percentage points lower for women. For those living in poverty, the proportion of economically active women is considerably reduced (50.9%), while it remains virtually unchanged for men (86%). Women's monthly incomes are equivalent to only 71.0% of those of men, the majority of women working in the informal sector with highly vulnerable working conditions and no access to social security⁴."}, {"bbox": [96, 1454, 1134, 1534], "category": "Text", "text": "With regard to people with disabilities, it is important to mention that the National Institute of Statistics (INE) is responsible for collecting information on people with disabilities through the National Population and Housing Censuses, the only source of information in the country that highlights the characteristics and needs of this"}, {"bbox": [86, 1572, 326, 1597], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² World Inequality Database"}, {"bbox": [86, 1597, 859, 1622], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ Gender gap index in Paraguay from 2014 to 2023, Statista Research Department, July 2024"}, {"bbox": [86, 1622, 587, 1645], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ Paraguay, UN Women, Americas and the Caribbean, 2023"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1682, 1143, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 25"}]