Dominican Republic Allocates RD$21.9 Billion to National Care Policy

The Dominican Republic has included RD$21.977 billion in the proposed 2027 national budget for its National Care Policy, a government initiative designed to strengthen care services, distribute caregiving responsibilities more equitably and support people who depend on assistance in their daily lives.

The allocation was presented during a meeting of the Intersectoral Care Roundtable, which brings together 11 public institutions responsible for coordinating the policy. The meeting was led by Finance and Economy Minister Magín Díaz, Women’s Minister Gloria Reyes and Labor Minister Eddy Olivares.

The officials discussed the policy’s implementation, funding priorities and the need to establish a legal framework for a National Care System. They also highlighted the economic implications of unpaid caregiving, population aging and the country’s future demand for specialized services.

Early Childhood Receives Most of the Proposed Funding

Of the RD$21.977 billion included in the proposed 2027 budget for the participating institutions’ care-related activities, 74.6% is already protected, according to the government. The authorities said this provision is intended to help maintain continuity in a policy they consider a public priority.

The proposed allocation is divided among three main population groups:

Early childhood: RD$18.606 billion, representing 84.66% of the total.

Older adults: RD$2.301 billion, equivalent to 10.47%.

People with disabilities: RD$1.069 billion, accounting for 4.87%.

The government also reported RD$2.71071 billion in public investment across 161 projects registered in the National Public Investment System. These projects have a presence in all 31 provinces of the country.

Of that investment, RD$2.25535 billion, or 83.20%, is assigned to early childhood. A further RD$101.75 million is allocated to disability-related initiatives, RD$65.34 million to statistics and RD$9.31 million to older adults.

The budget figures refer to the proposed 2027 allocations. They do not, by themselves, establish that all funds have been approved or disbursed.

Population Aging Creates Long-Term Planning Challenges

Finance and Economy Minister Magín Díaz said the country is currently benefiting from a demographic dividend, a period in which the working-age population is relatively large compared with the dependent population.

He warned that this advantage will change as the population ages, potentially creating greater pressure on public services, social protection and the resources available to support dependent people. Díaz estimated that the transition could become a significant challenge over the next 20 to 30 years.

The National Care Policy is intended to help the country prepare for those changes by strengthening services and coordinating the institutions responsible for providing or supporting care.

According to Women’s Minister Gloria Reyes, the Dominican Republic currently has approximately 52 people in dependent situations for every 100 people of working age. She said this relationship places pressure on the social protection system and will become more challenging as population aging advances.

Unpaid Care Work and Women’s Employment

Reyes also emphasized the economic consequences of unpaid domestic and caregiving work, which falls disproportionately on women. These responsibilities can limit women’s ability to enter formal employment, remain in their jobs and make full use of their professional qualifications.

Expanding access to care services could help address some of these barriers by distributing responsibilities more broadly among the state, families, communities and private businesses.

The policy has four main objectives: guarantee the universal right to care, promote shared responsibility among different sectors of society, recognize and redistribute unpaid domestic work, and develop the care economy as a source of quality employment.

For the Dominican Republic, the challenge extends beyond providing assistance to children, older adults and people with disabilities. It also involves creating conditions that allow more people, particularly women, to participate in the formal labor market while ensuring that people who need care can access appropriate support.

Government Updates Policy and Legal Framework

The meeting also reviewed progress in updating the National Care Policy, a process coordinated by Deputy Minister of Public Investment Planning Martín Francos alongside the Ministry of Women. UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment, is providing technical assistance.

Officials stressed the importance of advancing a bill that would establish a National Care System. The proposed legislation is intended to organize institutional responsibilities and provide a framework for sustainable coordination among the agencies involved.

The Intersectoral Care Roundtable includes the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Women, the Ministry of Labor, the Supérate Social Development Directorate, the Single System of Beneficiaries (Siuben), the National Statistics Office (ONE), the National Institute for Technical and Vocational Training (Infotep), the National Institute for Comprehensive Early Childhood Care (Inaipi), the National Council for Older Adults (Conape), the National Disability Council (Conadis) and the National Council for Children and Adolescents (Conani).

The proposed 2027 budget and the pending legislation represent two parts of the government’s approach to care: financing programs and establishing a framework for coordinating them. The policy’s longer-term impact will depend on the final budget, implementation of the planned projects and progress toward establishing the National Care System.