Latin America

The region comprises the countries of South America. The Development Cooperation implemented in the region is managed by a regional team at UPU IB headquarters and one regional office located in Montevideo (Uruguay).

During the first three years of the current cycle, 49 activities from 15 development and cooperation projects were executed in the region. These activities included capacity-building workshops and consultancy missions related to the ORE project, financial and social inclusion, postal sector reform and development, and other interregional and national projects aimed at improving the Posts’ quality of service. The execution rate at the midpoint of the cycle is 84.5%, with the successful achievement of the key performance indicators (KPIs), especially for the ORE project. 

All projects under the umbrella of the regional development plan (RDP) are jointly developed and financed with the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal, which plays a vital role in the implementation of activities in the field. 

As part of the level-one ORE project, four thematic regional workshops were held, with the successful participation of 175 participants, 80.5% of whom were UPU fellows. 14 consultant missions were carried out. For all on-site process review missions, the UPU operational experts worked hand-in-hand with local staff to review postal operations and recommend improvements. This targeted cooperation has allowed the UPU to gain a deeper understanding of each DO’s particularities. The IB’s quality of service experts have established country groupings that will make it possible to tailor support to each DO according to its real needs and target the assistance provided so that the Posts can achieve the project KPIs and, more importantly, improve their operational performance. 

Activities were also carried out as part of the level-two projects on postal reform and postal financial services. Having identified the need to strengthen and update the global pool of postal reform experts, the IB updated key postal reform materials (mainly the Postal Reform Guide), which was shared with the postal community in all UPU languages during 2019. Six successful activities relating to the integrated postal development plan were conducted – these include in-country IPDP missions where draft proposal, roadmap and action plans were presented to the high-level authorities and DOs of the beneficiary countries.

Within the framework of the postal financial services project, four missions plus one group training and 1 procurement of equipment were conducted in four countries in order to evaluate the level of implementation of such services.

Under the e-services and diversification project, a capacity-building workshop plus two onsite missions were implemented in order to strengthen the contribution of Posts to digital inclusion and enable them to make a strong contribution towards the achievement of national digital economy strategies.

The regional development plan (RDP) is an effective and homogeneous tool for deploying UPU actions in the field, based on two fundamental principles:

• The integration of all cooperation activities within the International Bureau. The DCDEV acts as an interface between the various International Bureau programmes and developing countries requiring assistance;
• Regionalization, in order to meet the specific needs of each region. The UPU creates synergies with regional players, and strengthens and diversifies cooperation mechanisms in the field.

The RDP provides a shared platform for all cooperation players whose objectives and priorities are the same, and who share available resources in the best possible way.

Methodology

The methodological approach for the RDP clearly defines the roles of the various players in the process of formulating and implementing the plan and projects in the various regions.