The National Council for Early Childhood, Children and Adolescents (CONAPINA) of El Salvador today presented the results of the project "Protection of Returnee Children and Adolescents to El Salvador," an initiative supported by the OAS General Secretariat and financed through the pioneering contribution of the Government of Spain to the MIRPS Fund.
Over its 12 months of implementation, the project supported 70 returned families, equivalent to more than 300 people, surpassing the initial goal of reaching 60 families. Key results include:
• 180 instances of humanitarian assistance, including the delivery of food baskets to meet basic needs.
• 60 seed capital grants to boost family entrepreneurship.
• 60 technical and specialized training scholarships, along with the implementation of an integrated intervention model that combined assistance, training, financial and nutritional education, and territorial support.
The initiative was financed with USD 100,000 from the MIRPS Fund and an additional USD 46,800 as counterpart funding from CONAPINA.
The full video of the results presentation event is available here.
Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, del Project Director from the Department of Access to Rights of the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy highlighted the impact of cooperation in transforming lives: "The results presented today show what happens when cooperation translates into concrete actions: returned children and adolescents who now have real opportunities for training, livelihoods, and greater stability for their families." "This type of initiative proves that it is indeed possible to build sustainable solutions based on solidarity, shared responsibility, and regional cooperation," she added.
The Project Coordinator at CONAPINA, Ana Serena Morales, noted: "El Salvador continues its transformation process, prioritizing security, opportunity creation, and social cohesion — marking a new chapter in our history. This vision is also reflected in our strategies to address the challenges of human mobility comprehensively. As a country, we have witnessed these dynamics firsthand, and experience has taught us the importance of adopting an integrated approach that not only meets the immediate needs of displaced people but also promotes durable solutions."
The Permanent Observer of Spain to the OAS, Carmen Montón, said: "I can proudly affirm that Spain is a reliable partner of MIRPS and the OAS, and that our support stems from the firm conviction that international protection, development cooperation, and the orderly management of migration are not separate fields, but complementary dimensions of the same policy of rights and social cohesion."
Through the MIRPS Fund, the OAS reaffirms its commitment to strengthening national initiatives aimed at improving access to protection and durable solutions for people on the move in Central America and Mexico, facilitating mechanisms of practical and solidarity-based cooperation among countries in the region.
During the presentation of results, featuring beneficiary testimonies a href= https://youtu.be/ZF4QP853mUk a project video https://youtu.be/ZF4QP853mUk was shared. One young participant said: "Being part of this project has been an achievement in my life, because now I have clarity about what I want for my future. I no longer see migration the same way I did when I was younger, because today I have my own income and opportunities in my country."
Today's presentation launched the regional cycle of results reporting for the First MIRPS Fund Project Portfolio, which brings together efforts by countries in the region to strengthen their responses to displacement. Upcoming results will be presented for initiatives implemented in
Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama.
About the MIRPS Fund
The MIRPS Fund is a specific fund for voluntary contributions under the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS) for forced displacement in Central America and Mexico. It was unanimously approved by the OAS Permanent Council on May 27, 2020, in compliance with the mandate issued by the OAS General Assembly in 2019 in Medellín, Colombia. The MIRPS Fund is managed by the OAS Department of Access to Rights.
The Fund serves as a mechanism for raising and channeling financial resources through voluntary contributions, enabling the seven MIRPS countries — Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama — to meet their commitments under the MIRPS process. It provides a shared-responsibility approach to address the challenges of forced displacement, aiming to protect and improve the living conditions of displaced persons and the communities hosting them.
About MIRPS
The Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS) is an innovative mechanism to implement the Global Compact on Refugees, facilitating regional cooperation among countries of origin, transit, and destination for greater shared responsibility in prevention, protection, and durable solutions in response to the rising forced displacement in Central America and Mexico.
The MIRPS Technical Secretariat is composed of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Organization of American States (OAS), through its Department of Access to Rights of the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy.
Reference: E-077/25
