Casanova, D., Gomez, L., Moreno, N & Lozano, K. (2025) Implementation of a pilot program to strengthen organizations leading community care initiatives in the peri-urban areas of Cartagena, Bolívar. [Policy brief] Project Initiatives to Strengthen Care Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This policy brief summarizes the results of the pilot participatory action research project carried out in peri-urban areas of Cartagena. The initiative assessed the operation of 22 community care initiatives in 10 peripheral neighborhoods and implemented technical strengthening plans and material support with three prioritized organizations.

The research shows that community initiatives are an organized and collective response to sustain life in the face of structural state absence, with 80.2% of the work carried out by women who face material hardship, lack of infrastructure, and irregular funding. At the same time, the study identifies a critical tension: in some cases, access to resources and training activities ended up increasing the workload of the female leaders, without generating an effective redistribution of care within their families and communities.

Based on these lessons, The document sets out guidelines for the design of the Community Care Strategy of the National Care System and the National Care Policy, recommending to ensure decent infrastructure and continuous supplies, design training programs adapted to the local area, and guarantee active state co-responsibility without distorting or commercializing the neighborhood organizational fabric.