Tekoporã (Tekoporã Mbarete)
Tekoporã ("living well" in Guaraní) is Paraguay's flagship national conditional cash transfer program, run by the Ministry of Social Development (MDS, successor to the Secretaría de Acción Social), serving poor and extremely poor households — prioritizing families with children/adolescents aged 0-18, pregnant women, people with disabilities, elderly members, and indigenous communities. It pairs socio-familial accompaniment (home-visiting "Guías Familiares") with a direct monthly cash transfer conditioned on school attendance and health check-ups. In August 2023 the government relaunched it as "Tekoporã Mbarete" ("strong Tekoporã"), raising benefit amounts by 25% and expanding coverage toward 200,000 families. It is funded entirely through the Paraguayan national government budget.
Conditional Cash Transfer, National Program, Guaraní Language, Indigenous Communities, Rural Poverty, Latin America, Bancarization
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Ministerio de Desarrollo Social (MDS), Paraguay
- City
- Fernando de la Mora
- State / Province
- Central
- Country
- Paraguay
Contact
- Website
- https://www.mds.gov.py/
- Phone
- +595 21 729 5100
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Rolling
- Number of recipients
- 200,000
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- Distribution Type
- Debit Card, Cash (over-the-counter), Mobile ATM
- Benefit details
Transfers combine a fixed monthly 'Bono Alimentario Familiar' of Gs. 90,000 with a variable 'Bono Familiar' of Gs. 40,000 per eligible member (up to 4 children/adolescents aged 0-18, 1 pregnant woman, 1 elderly adult, 1 person with mild disability), Gs. 150,000 for up to 2 people with severe disability, and a flat Gs. 225,000 per indigenous family. Since August 2023 ("Tekoporã Mbarete" relaunch) amounts rose 25% and payments shifted from bimonthly to monthly for most beneficiaries. Payments are made via debit card through Banco Nacional de Fomento, with residual cash/mobile-ATM disbursement for households not yet fully banked.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Targets households identified through government social census/targeting instruments (historically the Índice de Calidad de Vida, ICV, now integrated with the national Registro/Padrón Social de Hogares) as being in poverty or extreme poverty (Strata I-II), and that include at least one of: children/adolescents aged 0-18, pregnant women, people with disabilities, elderly members, or belong to an indigenous community. Priority is given to female heads of household as the transfer's titular recipient. Beneficiaries in areas that have not yet been censused generally cannot enroll until a census/prioritization round reaches their community.
Demographics
- Race / ethnicity targets
- Indigenous communities are explicitly prioritized and receive a distinct flat-rate family bonus (Gs. 225, 000/month).
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Expecting
Health
- Disability status
- Yes
Financial
- Currently receiving government benefits
- Disqualifying
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen
Geography
- Countries covered
- Paraguay
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Research / participation requirements
Tekoporã has been the subject of extensive external impact evaluations (e.g., IADB/World Bank-supported studies on income, consumption, school attendance, child labor and immunization outcomes) and a 2015-2019 World Bank/GPSA-funded social accountability initiative ('Ñañomoiru') that introduced Citizen Report Cards and Community Score Cards for beneficiary feedback; participation in these studies/social-audit mechanisms has not been described as mandatory for all recipients.
Application Process
- How to apply
There is no general open application in the sense of walk-in enrollment; households are primarily identified via periodic government social censuses and the national household registry (previously scored using the Índice de Calidad de Vida). Families believing they qualify can approach local MDS/community 'Guía Familiar' offices or municipal social-action points once their area has been censused, and MDS also offers a digital services channel (via the Portal Paraguay/MDS website) where citizens can request incorporation into the program, check application status, or obtain certificates of non-affiliation/separation.
- Selection process
Households are selected based on results from the government's socioeconomic targeting instruments (Índice de Calidad de Vida up to Strata II, or the successor social registry), which classify households into poverty/extreme-poverty/vulnerability strata, cross-referenced with the presence of qualifying members (children 0-18, pregnant women, people with disabilities, elderly, or indigenous community membership); final incorporation can also be authorized by ministerial resolution.
