Shared Responsibility

Surprising Colombia: A changing nation

Social investment

• Monetary subsidies for senior citizens grew from 18 million USD in 2003 to 211 million USD in 2007.
• Housing subsidies grew from 30 million USD in 2003 to 76 million USD by June 2005.
• Social programs went from representing 13.4% of GDP in 2002, to 16.3% of GDP in 2007, an increase of three points, with social expenditures being four times higher than defense expenditures.
• Three million Colombians were able to move out of poverty and another three million out of extreme poverty. Our goal is to reduce poverty to 35% by 2010 and extreme poverty to 8%.
• Inequality went down over the 2002-2006 four-year term, going from 0.58 to 0.54. (Gini coefficient)
• In 2002, the ICBF (Colombian Family Welfare Institute) served 6 million people. In 2007 it served close to 10,200,000.

Getting schooled

• At the end of 2002, the education coverage at primary and secondary institutions was 86%, now at December of 2007, it is at 92%.
• Furthermore, 750 libraries throughout Colombia have been recently provided with materials and equipment.
• Rates for high school attendance in rural areas for children involved in the government’s Families in Action program aged 12 to 17 increased by 12%, with attendance going from 77% to 89%.
• In urban areas, there was a 5.9% increase, with attendance going from 88% to 94%.

Health and nutrition

• In 2002, the School Cafeterias Program served 2,229,687 school-aged children from the lowest income groups attending public schools. That number rose to 3,705,492 by December 2007. We expect to feed 4,026,198 children by 2010.
• Chronic malnutrition in children from 0 to 2 years of age in rural areas was reduced by 10%.
• In terms of health, acute diarrhoeal diseases decreased from 21% to 10% in children under 4 years of age in rural areas.
• Public health care coverage doubled from 2002 to 2007.

Democratic security

• While in 1993, public approval of the Armed Forces was 49%, 12 years later it reached 79%.
• In 1993, 21% of Colombians trusted the police. Now this figure has risen to 60%.
• During 2003, the number of massacre victims dropped by 26% and the kidnapping rate also fell by 26%.
• During 2004, the number of massacre victims dropped by 48%, the kidnapping rate by 35% and the common homicide rate dropped, compared to the same period from the year before, by 14%.
• During 2005, the number of massacre victims dropped by 3%, the kidnapping rate by 44%, the common homicide rate by 11% and total acts of terrorism fell by 16%.
• During 2006, the number of massacre victims dropped by 23%, the kidnapping rate by 14% and the common homicide rate drooped by 5%
• During 2007, the number of massacres victims dropped by 34%, the kidnapping rate by 29% and the common homicide rate drooped by 2%.
• Since President Alvaro Uribe took office in 2002 and up to December of 2007, over 46,000 members of illegally armed groups had demobilized.