ECLAC reaffirms that investing in the care economy and gender equality is key to accelerating sustainability and peace
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The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), held in Seville, addressed key challenges to reform the international financial system.

From June 30 to July 2, 2025, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) actively participated in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), held in Seville, Spain. This global forum, convened by the United Nations General Assembly to reform the international financial architecture and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, brought the region’s voice to the forefront, with concrete proposals to promote sustainable development with gender equality, fiscal justice and multilateral cooperation.
During the conference, the "Accelerator for Investment in Comprehensive Care Policies and Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean" was included in the Seville Action Platform. This initiative seeks to support the commitment of countries in the region to implement comprehensive care systems and mobilize resources to advance the society of care. The Accelerator is promoted by ECLAC, CAF, IDB, together with Chile in its capacity as Chair of the Regional Conference on Social Development of Latin America and the Caribbean and of the Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Aging and the Rights of Older Persons, and Mexico as host country of the upcoming XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. The initiative also includes UN Women, ILO, UNDP and the Global Alliance for Care as partners. The next step is to present the Accelerator at the upcoming Regional Conference on Women in Mexico in August, extending an invitation to other countries to join.
On July 1, ECLAC Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs participated in the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on the EU-LAC Bi-Regional Care Pact, organized by the EU-LAC Foundation, UN Women and ECLAC. In his remarks, he emphasized that care must be at the center of development solutions and acknowledged the leadership of the Government of Colombia in advancing toward a bi-regional pact that could be endorsed at the upcoming CELAC–European Union Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in November in Santa Marta. “The Bi-Regional Care Pact aims to formalize and deepen collaboration between countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union on care matters, based on shared values and paving a transformative path of mutual learning,” he stated. ECLAC reiterated the importance of strategic financing as the foundation for these efforts, and highlighted the technical and financial support provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
The event emphasized that the Bi-Regional Pact builds on existing experiences in both regions, such as the European Care Strategy and the Regional Gender Agenda (RGA), particularly the Buenos Aires Commitment. Its relevance lies in the potential to consolidate a strategic collaboration that contributes to people’s well-being, narrows gender gaps and strengthens comprehensive care systems with decent work and accessible, quality services.
Throughout the three days, ECLAC’s Division for Gender Affairs took part in various activities held in the Care Pavilion, an initiative led by the Global Alliance for Care with support from the Government of Spain, the Provincial Council of Seville and the Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity.
On June 30, Ana Güezmes, Director of ECLAC’s Division for Gender Affairs, participated in the event “Financing care to achieve the SDGs: a Global South agenda from Seville to 2030”, co-organized with the Government of Brazil, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Southern Voice, UN Women, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and other strategic partners. In her intervention, she noted that Latin America and the Caribbean has made a significant contribution to the multilateral debate by positioning the right to care as a structural dimension of public policy and a component of international cooperation. She stated: “Latin America and the Caribbean contributes to the multilateral debate and to the Seville Commitment through agreements set forth in the Regional Gender Agenda, particularly the proposal to advance toward a care society.” She also emphasized that “increasing investment in care through innovative financial instruments, technical assistance and the mobilization of internal and external resources is key to accelerating progress toward equality, sustainable development and peace.”
On July 2, ECLAC participated in the event “Financing care through equality: toward an international feminist alliance for development,” convened by the Government of Spain, where Ana Güezmes called for a transformation of an economy that does not place life and care at its center. She stressed that the care society challenges the core of economic, environmental and productive policies, and has the potential to generate well-being, quality employment and increased tax revenues. She underscored that “mobilizing public and private financial resources through progressive taxation is crucial, as also outlined in the Seville Commitment.” She reaffirmed that advancing the care society today means “sowing hope, affirming that another form of development is possible, and placing care at the center of a more just and sustainable world.”
That same day, the official presentation of the Seville Action Platform took place under the theme “Investing in care for equality and prosperity: a global initiative to advance gender-responsive financing for development.” This global initiative, supported by the governments of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, the International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Women, and the Global Alliance for Care—with ECLAC as a regional partner along with multilateral organizations and civil society networks—proposes six concrete actions: gender-responsive budgeting; expanding investment in care infrastructure and services; strengthening data systems; scaling up care systems with an equity and sustainability approach; global leadership for inclusive financing; and international cooperation.
The Seville Commitment, the central political outcome of this international conference, reaffirmed the urgent need to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, ensuring their full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It acknowledged that the feminization of poverty persists, and that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is a prerequisite for women’s economic empowerment and sustainable development. The commitment also included the mainstreaming of gender perspectives across the financing for development agenda and the promotion of gender-sensitive solutions. Moreover, it emphasized the need to increase investment in the care economy and to recognize, value and equitably redistribute the disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and care work borne by women, while reaffirming the commitment to eliminate gender-based violence.
The contributions from Latin America and the Caribbean at FfD4 will be further taken up at the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held from August 12 to 15 in Mexico City, under the theme “Transformations in the political, economic, social, cultural and environmental spheres to advance the society of care and gender equality.” This regional meeting will reaffirm the commitment from the Global South to a new development model centered on the sustainability of life and the planet.
Related link(s)
- Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) (official United Nations website)
- Faced with Financing for Development Challenges, Latin American and Caribbean Countries Need to Strengthen their Capacities to Mobilize Resources and Forge Renewed Cooperation Mechanisms
- El Pabellón de los Cuidados arranca en la Cuarta Conferencia sobre Financiación para el Desarrollo (FfD4)