SISCA and We Effect seal a regional alliance on housing, care, and social adaptation to climate change

Guatemala City, Guatemala, February 19, 2026

In a strategic step to accelerate sustainable social solutions in the region, the Secretariat for Central American Social Integration (SISCA), the leading body of the social pillar of the Central American Integration System (SICA), and the international organization We Effect signed a Framework Cooperation Agreement.

SISCA is the technical body responsible for coordinating and articulating the social agenda of the Central American Integration System (SICA). It supports member states in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of regional social policies and initiatives aimed at reducing poverty and inequality, strengthening social protection systems, and promoting inclusive and sustainable development across Central America and the Dominican Republic.

This alliance is aimed at the design, coordination, management, and implementation of joint actions in technical cooperation, capacity strengthening, knowledge generation, and regional advocacy to promote cooperative and associative housing models, develop rights-based care policies, and advance social responses to the effects of climate change, especially among populations in vulnerable situations.

“This agreement represents an opportunity to strengthen institutional capacities and promote joint social policies focused on development, inclusion, social cohesion, and the reduction of inequalities in Central America and the Dominican Republic,” stated Ana Leticia Aguilar Theissen, Secretary General of SISCA.

Through this instrument, compliance is given to Agreement 02/2025 of the Central American Council on Housing and Human Settlements (CCVAH), which mandated SISCA and We Effect to establish a joint institutional cooperation framework in support of the comprehensive development of human settlements, promoting cooperative housing models, care systems, and social habitat management, among other innovative approaches.

The agreement opens new opportunities for the implementation of national and regional programs and projects, the development of studies and technical assistance, as well as training processes and exchange of experiences among public, private, and cooperative sector actors, contributing to the strengthening of regulatory frameworks and public policies in SICA member countries.

“Housing is social, economic, and care infrastructure. When organized under a cooperative model, it ceases to be merely a roof and becomes a concrete tool to reduce structural inequalities in our region. We Effect plays a key role in articulating public-private partnerships and advancing a cooperative model with 20 years of experience in the region, which has proven to be viable, sustainable, and transformative,” said Damaris Ruiz, Director for Central America at We Effect.

With this signing, both institutions lay the foundation for coordinated regional action to scale solutions in access to adequate housing, recognition of care as a pillar of development, and the construction of more resilient societies in the face of climate challenges, through evidence-based public policies in the countries that make up the SICA region.