The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will be implementing the US $1.1 million joint programme “Modernization of the Social Protection Systems in Jamaica: Towards an Adaptive, Shock Responsive, Inclusive System”.

"How can we make sure women and marginalised groups are part of the ecosystem creating employment and also accessing the opportunities for economic growth?" This was one of several topics of discussion during the “Road to the Summit: A Green and Equitable Future for the Americas” panel discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, in partnership with the US Department of State leading to the Ninth Summit of the Americas.

On her inaugural mission to the Caribbean, UN Women Regional Director for the Americas and Caribbean Maria Noel Vaeza, accompanied by the Representative - UN Women Multi-Country Office–Caribbean, Tonni Brodber, met with Governments and development partners in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean mission was focused on sharing on UN Women’s new 4-year strategic plan, particularly strategies towards building forward from COVID-19 in a gender-responsive way.

The Joint Programme on Universal Adaptive Social Protection in the Eastern Caribbean is providing support to Governments to strengthen their capacities to among other things, narrow gender gaps in poverty rates, enhance women’s income security, and boost female-headed households resilience to climate-related shocks. A response measure which has come up for review is Universal Basic Income (UBI), which may have both pros and cons if implemented as a gender-responsive social protection initiative.

‘Expanded income support, the provision of liquidity for small businesses to preserve jobs and the design and implementation of gender responsive social policy’ are three of the recommendations outlined in the new UN Human and Economic Impact AssessmenT (HEAT) Report for the British Virgin Islands.

Every country in the world has been touched by COVID-19. This unprecedented health-related crisis “has exposed the fragility of our societies to global shocks such as diseases or the climate crisis,” according to the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres. Countries of the Eastern Caribbean, like many other Small Island Developing States, are especially vulnerable to the social and economic impacts of the crisis that is affecting all segments of the population.

On the occasion of the beginning of the 16 days of activism and the commemoration of November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the regional offices of UN Women, UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization, presented a flagship program for the eradication of child marriage.

She was brought up by a single mother in rural Jamaica, in a family of modest means. Today she is the Commanding Officer of Jamaica’s Coast Guard, the first woman to attain the prestigious position in the island state, as well as the entire Caribbean region. Commander Antonette Wemyss-Gorman learnt early in life never to accept ‘no’ for an answer. Her mantra: “I can do that!”