Freeing the Americas of Poverty and Hunger

Changing population age structures and their implications on socio-economic development in the Caribbean

Social protection was the core of the Thirty-first Session of the economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC);, held in Montevideo in March 2006The discussions focused on the need for a new approach to social protection, given the structural changes the region is experiencing. It was suggested that this approach should be the result of a new rights-based social covenant, in which social rights are seen as the normative horizon, and existing inequalities and budgetary restrictions are the limiting factors to be addressed (ECLAC, 2006a);.…

The Madrid International plan of action on ageing

United Nations launches study on violence against children

A Passage to Hope: Women and International Migration

Exploiting the potential of the Caribbean information society as an enabler of human development in the region

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC);, conducted a survey of Caribbean countries aimed at documenting and subsequently monitoring public ICT policies in the following areas: policy development; State modernization and e-government; access; supply of goods and services; and public budget expenditure. Seven countries were studied…

200 Million Migrants Worldwide

The girl child and boys in the Caribbean: progress and challenges

This issue of Gender Dialogue focuses attention on the status of the girl child in the Caribbean and examines the ongoing progress and challenges in fulfilment of international mandates such as the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Millennium Development Goals and other relevant commitments.…

The Regional Coordination Mechanism for the Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy

Reproductive health and rights: HIV/AIDS amd gender equality

An assessment of social vulnerability and resilience in poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPS/I-PRSPS) of selected Caribbean SIDS

The study undertakes a review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), and Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (I-PRSPs) of four selected Caribbean SIDS from the Eastern Caribbean. The countries had participated in the Poverty Reduction Strategy initiative formulated by the World Bank. The country papers reviewed were the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The review assesses and provides a comparative analysis of the general awareness of the notions of vulnerability and the inclusion and use of strategies that address the reductio…

Social security reforms and their implications for the Caribbean

As in many other countries, the viability and sustainability of social security systems in the Caribbean is of concern to policy makers. Although systems in the region remain relatively young, liquid and healthy at this time, timely reform is necessary to prevent a crisis in the future. Reform is required to grapple with population ageing, a fairly large informal (non-contributing); sector in some countries, high open unemployment and the impact of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS);. Caribbean social security systems (pension branch); are defined benef…

Social security in the English-speaking Caribbean

Over the last years issues concerning social security have become important items on the economic and political agenda as given current projections, the financial sustainability of current social security schemes is questioned. Research on social security in the Caribbean is however rather limited, providing decision makers with few answers on how to tackle the issue of reform in the region. This paper highlights the current status of social security in the region. By presenting indicators of recent performance and identifying challenges that schemes in the region face, the study aims to contr…

Integrating gender into macroeconomic policy and The use of gender indicators in public policy-making.

This issue of the Gender Dialogue focuses on two programmatic areas of ECLAC’s work over recent years, namely (i) integrating gender into macroeconomic policy and (ii) the use of gender indicators in public policy-making. In its work on integrating gender into macroeconomic policy, the ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean conducted a study to determine the capacity of economic planning units in selected countries of the subregion to integrate gender into the macreconomic planning process and the findings are highlighted below. The study is intended to assist in the development of a…

Gender and the Millennium Development Goals

It has now been five years since the landmark United Nations Millennium Declaration and related Development Goals (MDGs), wad adopted by Member States. The Declaration is a blueprint for action and has created a political momentum which holds great potential not only for improving the rights and empowerment of women, but more fundamentally for achieving the MDGs. The targets and indicators represent concrete benchmarks to measure progress on the eight development goals. The 2000 Millennium Declaration commits States to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as effective ways to c…

Caribbean small states, vulnerability and development

Combatting violence against women: actions and strategies

Gender review and assessment of HIV

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean in collaboration with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Caribbean Office is reviewing gender issues in Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) programmes and projects being developed or implemented in the Caribbean subregion. The main objective of this review, of which this report is one component, is to assist in developing a programme for combating HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean within the context of their mandate to provide technic…

Report of the meeting on developing an agenda to address equity gaps in Caribbean SIDS

Migration in the Caribbean- What do we know?: an overview of data, politics and programmes at the international and regional levels to address critical issues