The government is working to improve how social assistance is delivered across the island following a two-week mission by the World Bank focused on strengthening the country’s social protection system.
The high-level mission, which ended on May 14, reviewed Saint Lucia’s current social support programmes and laid the groundwork for a new Social Protection Information System aimed at making services faster, more organised and easier to access.
The proposed system is expected to improve coordination, accountability and service delivery across several government programmes by creating one central platform to manage social assistance information.
Senior Social Protection Specialist with the World Bank, Nancy Banegas, said the mission involved close collaboration with the Ministry of Equity, the Saint Lucia Social Development Fund, the Ministry of Finance, the National Emergency Management Organisation and other agencies.
She said the review focused on three major programmes: the Public Assistance Programme (PAP), the Koudmen Sent Lisi Programme and the Shock Response Cash Voucher Programme.
“These three programmes have been identified as very important social assistance programmes, and the Government, along with the Ministry of Equity, is looking at how services can be delivered more effectively. This system will transform the way ministries deliver services and communicate with clients. It will not only directly benefit clients, but also strengthen the support services they receive,” Banegas said.
According to a government statement, the new system is expected to modernise several areas, including client registration, assessments, payment systems and the way benefits are distributed.
Officials say it should also improve workflow for social workers and ministry staff.
Director of Social Transformation in the Ministry of Equity, Tanzia Toussaint, described the initiative as an important step in strengthening Saint Lucia’s social protection system and improving data collection and decision-making.
“This means bringing together all stakeholders, particularly from within our Ministry, including Welfare, Human Services, Social Transformation and Community Development, all of which play a direct role in gathering and managing critical information. We recognise that the flow of information and the capturing of relevant data from the units will improve considerably over time. The objective is to establish a system that reflects, unit by unit, the work being undertaken and the specific information that must be captured. Information is power, and without it, we cannot effectively drive the social protection agenda forward,” Toussaint stated.
The software for the Social Protection Information System is expected to be developed and operational by the first quarter of 2027.
The Ministry of Equity said the initiative is part of wider efforts to build a more efficient and people-focused social protection system to better support vulnerable individuals and families across Saint Lucia.
