Costa Rica Reduces Poverty!
Costa Rica Ends 2016 with the Lowest Poverty Rate in Seven Years
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, Costa Rica finished 2016 with the lowest poverty rate in seven years. More than 10,000 households rose above the poverty line and 10,000 left what is considered extreme poverty.
Ana Helena Chacón, Vice President of Costa Rica and Coordinator of the Presidential Social Council, said that the results are not coincidental. Costa Rica made a commitment to respecting human rights and has done a lot of work to improve living conditions for the country's most vulnerable. “We will continue to work harder, under the conviction that it is possible to move the needle toward equality and social inclusion,” Chacón said.
Costa Rican officials said the National Strategy for the Reduction of Poverty from the Bridge to Development, launched in March of 2015 included employment programs that put a priority on disadvantaged Costa Rica. Measures to expand and recondition the Centers for National Programs of Nutrition and Comprehensive Care (CEN-CINAI) were also taken.
Scholarships and state transfers increased by an average of 14 percent per household and adjustments were made to prevent the Development Program from benefiting families that did not really need it.
