Disasters and inequality in a protracted crisis : towards universal, comprehensive, resilient and sustainable social protection systems in Latin America and the Caribbean : fourth session of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean : virtual meeting, 26–28 October 2021

The region is traversing a perilous moment of great uncertainty, in which unremitting structural problems, such as poverty, inequality, exclusion and the violation of rights, are at risk of being intensified by emerging critical challenges —such as migration, the digital divide and climate change— and by the impacts of disasters that are increasingly recurrent and varied in nature and origin.In this context, the analyses and proposals set forth here are intended to underpin the discussion of alternatives for moving towards a transformative recovery with equality and sustainability, capable of addressing the challenges of inclusion and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Following the axes and lines of action of the Regional Agenda for Inclusive Social Development, this document represents an invitation to link social protection and disaster risk management systems to achieve greater social and institutional resilience, within a framework of social and fiscal compacts that, among other things, make it a viable proposition to build financially sustainable social protection systems for progressing towards sustainable development that leaves no one behind.