Carolina Lizama advances the recognition of care and caregivers’ rights in Chile
For more than two decades, Carolina Lizama Rojas has cared for her two children, both diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as family members living with chronic illnesses and care needs. That lived experience transformed her life and inspired her to become one of Chile’s leading advocates for the rights and recognition of caregivers.
Today, she serves as President of the Women, Rights and Care Foundation (MUDECU), where she works to advance the social and political recognition of care as a cornerstone of individual and community well-being.
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Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Lizama.
As part of this journey, Carolina has participated in several UN Women initiatives aimed at strengthening Chile’s care agenda. These include the Let’s Talk About Care social dialogues, organized jointly with the Ministry of Social Development and Family, and the community care mapping exercise carried out under the global TransformCare initiative. These processes have helped make the experiences, needs and proposals of caregivers more visible. Together with the MUDECU Foundation, Carolina also contributed to organizing the side event Care Work and Caregivers: Global Challenges and Regional Perspectives for Inclusive Social Development and served as a panellist during the 64th session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development, where she shared Chile’s experience and highlighted the importance of advancing comprehensive care systems.
Her commitment to this cause began long before taking on a public leadership role. It was her own experience as a caregiver that enabled her to understand the many dimensions of care and the challenges faced by thousands of women across the country.
“Over time, I realized that many of the challenges we faced were not isolated experiences, but realities shared by thousands of caregivers across Chile. MUDECU was born from that conviction: that women caregivers need to be heard, recognized and included in public policies.”
Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Lizama.
Bringing caregivers’ voices into public policymaking
In 2023, Carolina actively participated in the Let’s Talk About Care social dialogues, a nationwide listening and co-creation process designed to strengthen Chile’s care agenda by centring the experiences of caregivers. In 2026, she also joined the community care mapping initiative led by UN Women through the global TransformCare programme, which seeks to recognize and make visible community-based care as a vital contribution to building comprehensive care systems.
For Carolina, these initiatives create opportunities to bring the experience of civil society organizations into policymaking processes.
“Civil society organizations contribute invaluable local knowledge. We identify concrete needs and amplify the voices of communities that are too often absent from decision-making spaces. Participating in initiatives such as TransformCare strengthens democracy and helps shape more relevant, inclusive and effective public policies.”
These dialogue processes identified several priorities for caregivers, including access to respite care services, mental health support, stronger community networks, training opportunities, and measures that enable people to balance caregiving responsibilities with work and personal life.
They also underscored the need to advance greater shared responsibility for care by promoting the active engagement of governments, communities, families and the private sector in this essential work that sustains society.
A milestone in recognizing caregivers
Carolina’s leadership was also reflected in one of the most significant milestones for Chile’s caregiver movement: the enactment of the Care Law, which recognizes the right to care and establishes the National System of Support and Care.
As a representative of civil society during the official enactment ceremony, she spoke on behalf of thousands of caregivers and community organizations that had spent years advocating for the recognition of care and caregivers’ rights.
“It was one of the most meaningful moments of my life as both a caregiver and a community leader. I was not there representing only myself, but thousands of caregivers who have spent years fighting for this reality to be recognized.”
Her participation symbolized the contribution of grassroots organizations and of women across Chile who have helped position care as both a human rights issue and a public policy priority.
“The message I wanted to convey was that care has value, caregivers deserve rights, and no one should have to shoulder this responsibility alone.”
Leadership that inspires change
Through the MUDECU Foundation, Carolina has promoted community organizing, knowledge-sharing and the creation of support networks among women caregivers. Her work has strengthened local leadership and fostered spaces where caregivers can support one another in addressing the challenges they face.
“When women come together to share knowledge, experiences and opportunities, we strengthen one another and become capable of driving meaningful change in our communities.”
Her story illustrates how personal experience can become a catalyst for collective change, and how the participation of civil society organizations is essential to building more inclusive, sustainable and people-centred care systems.
Today, Carolina continues working to ensure that the voices of caregivers are heard and that no woman has to choose between caring for others, working, participating in public life or pursuing her own aspirations.
“Caregivers are not part of the problem that needs to be solved. We are part of the solution that sustains our families, our communities and our country every single day.”