The Soft Side of Plan Colombia - Special Social

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 002804

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO USTR
USDOC FOR USITC/LMSCHLITT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIN SNAR CO
SUBJECT: The Soft Side of Plan Colombia - Special Social
Programs of the Uribe Administration

REF: A) BOGOTA 01148; B) BOGOTA 01383


1. SUMMARY. Since the advent of Plan Colombia in 1999, the
GOC has spent over USD one billion on special social and
economic development programs to fight narcotrafficking,
poverty and violence, and the Uribe administration has
committed USD 470 million to these programs in the 2006
budget. A total of 4 million Colombians, roughly 10 percent
of the total population, are now beneficiaries of these
programs in 800 of the country's 1,098 municipalities.
Through these efforts nearly every indicator of social
development at the national level has shown marked
improvement. In June 2005, President Uribe created a single
organization called Accion Social to better coordinate these
efforts. Accion Social is leading the GOC's effort to
expand social programs to those communities most affected by
the country's internal conflict. END SUMMARY.

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A NEW ORGANIZATION
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2. In July 2005, Presidential decree 2467 combined three
social development agencies into one - the Presidential
Agency for Social Action and International Cooperation,
commonly known as Accion Social. The decree joined the
antinarcotic and anti-poverty social programs of Plan
Colombia's Investment Fund for Peace (FIP) with the programs
of the Network of Social Solidarity (RSS) and the Colombian
Agency for International Cooperation (ACCI). According to
Diego Andres Molano, Director of Presidential Programs for
Accion Social, the reorganization helped the Presidency
better address the overlapping issues of the narcotics
trade, poverty, and violence that affect the most vulnerable
segments of Colombian society. In addition, he continued,
the new organization offers more efficient management of the
rapidly growing programs the agency oversees.

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SUCCESS OF ANTINARCOTICS AND ANTI-POVERTY MEASURES
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3. Accion Social has continued the antinarcotics social
programs of Plan Colombia's Investment Fund for Peace. In
2005, mobile eradication groups manually eradicated over
30,000 hectares of illicit crops, primarily coca. (In 2006
they have destroyed roughly 4,000 hectares of coca and 50
hectares of opium poppy.) Alternative development projects,
in conjunction with USAID, have helped 170,000 families in
coca and poppy zones in 25 departments move away from
illegal cultivation and toward licit crops such as cacao,
fruit, and organic coffee. In addition, programs such as
"Familias Guardabosques" offer subsidies of up to USD 1,600
per year to over 30,000 families who have moved from growing
illicit crops to acting as stewards of the local
environment.


4. Accion Social also continues the anti-poverty measures
included in Plan Colombia through programs such as Families
in Action, which offers nutritional and educational
supplements to families with children under age 18. The GOC
spent USD 142 million on the program in 2005. With recent
expansions in coverage and new programs for displaced
families, it is expected to reach nearly 1 million children
in 700 municipalities by the end of 2006. More than USD 400
million has also been made available for infrastructure
projects, primarily for roads and bridges, but also for
electrification, sanitation and recreation facilities, and
community development projects.

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ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF CONFLICT
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5. Accion Social manages the programs for victims of
violence previously run by the Network of Social Solidarity.
Colombians who have lost property or loved ones to terrorist
acts can receive reimbursement, and families can obtain
reimbursement of up to 40 times the minimum monthly salary
if a family member is killed as a result of terrorism. When
the Uribe administration took office, nearly USD 90 million
worth of claims had not been paid to eligible families.
Most claims have now been paid, and the Presidency expects
the remainder to be paid by the end of the President's first
term.


6. Accion Social's National System for Integrated Attention
to the Displaced Population (SNAIPD) has helped to account
for, register, and assist the displaced population. With
formal registration, displaced persons can avail themselves
of standard welfare programs. Today, for example, nearly
half of the displaced population has registered for health
benefits through the social security system. Through the
coordination of Accion Social, poverty relief programs such
as Families in Action have now expanded to address displaced
persons. Construction projects in 125 municipalities that
had been attacked by illegal armed groups have been
completed, including entire communities such as Bojaya in
Choco. As a result, while the number of new displaced
persons peaked in 2002, it has fallen every year of the
Uribe administration to only one third of the peak level in

2005. Although the GOC reports 82,000 displaced persons
have returned to their homes through formal resettlement
programs, and many others of their own accord, a recent
USAID study showed that nearly 90 percent of the remaining
displaced do not have even one of their most basic human
needs met, showing just how far the GOC still needs to go.

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OTHER PROGRAMS
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7. The third component of Accion Social is the Colombian
Agency for International Cooperation (ACCI). To better
align aid to domestic development priorities, the agency
developed a Strategy for International Cooperation which
they presented at a conference with aid donors in Cartagena
in February of 2005. The agency developed a unique multi-
media tool on its web site, called the Map of International
Cooperation, which allows donors to generate lists of
ongoing projects by type for every department and
municipality in the country. USAID reports that they now
hold monthly consultations with Accion Social in five key
development areas, strengthening their coordination and
communication with the GOC. As a result, Colombia has
maintained its high level of multilateral and bilateral
development assistance in the USD 300 million range for the
past 3 years, and looks to do the same in 2006.


8. In 2004, the Uribe Administration created the Integral
Action Coordination Center (CCAI) to help guarantee State
presence, governance, and legitimacy in nine recently
recovered strategic zones covering 51 of Colombia's poorest
municipalities. Composed of 12 GOC agencies and ministries,
CCAI has organized nearly 90 joint visits to the
municipalities, offering a range of services from
registration to simple surgical procedures to over 200,000
residents. In many of the communities, consultation with
local leaders has resulted in infrastructure and alternative
development programs. According to Juan Pablo Franco,
Assistant Coordinator for CCAI, Accion Social has taken the
lead role in coordinating the efforts of the participant
agencies. The initiative encourages ministries to spend
more of their budgets in these neglected zones, and they
have already committed USD 45.1 million for 2006.

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THE FRUIT OF SPECIAL SOCIAL PROGRAMS
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9. Luis Alfonso Hoyos, Senior Presidential Advisor for
Accion Social, states that a total of 4 million Colombians
in marginal circumstances and/or victims of violence have
now benefited from over USD 1 billion in social spending
under Plan Colombia. Since 2002, the number of internally
displaced persons has fallen more than 60 percent;
matriculation in primary and secondary schools has risen 12
percent; the percentage of the population availing
themselves of subsidized health services has risen from 25
percent to 35 percent; and the percentage of Colombians
living in poverty has fallen from 58 percent to 53 percent.


10. COMMENT. Much attention is paid to the Uribe
Administration's increase in defense spending under Plan
Colombia. Less apparent has been the Administration's
commitment to increase funding for social programs to
complement the strategy of Democratic Security. As shown
above, with these efforts nearly every indicator of social
development at the national level has shown marked
improvement. Centralizing program management into a single
organization, Accion Social, appears to have improved
management and coordination. Moreover, through initiatives
such as CCAI, the Presidency has empowered Accion Social to
take the lead with the ministries in getting aid to those
strategic areas which need it most. END COMMENT.

Wood