Sociodemographic vulnerability in the Caribbean: an examination of the social and demographic impediments to equitable development with participatory citizenship in the Caribbean at the dawn of the twenty-first century

Abstract This study identifies and discusses sociodemographic structures, processes and trends that entail risks for individuals, households and communities in the small island developing States of the Caribbean, on the basis of the analysis of the environmental, geographical, economic and institutional vulnerability of these States conducted by ECLAC in the document Equity, development and citizenship, which was presented at the twenty-eighth session of the Commission. The analysis focuses on three sociodemographic issues. First, fertility, which continues to occur early and at high rates am…

Social Security in the United States: Overview and Outlook

This document was prepared by Helvia Velloso, consultant of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC, Washington Office. Prepared as a support to the document Shaping the Future of Social Protection: Access, Financing and Solidarity presented in the XXXI ECLAC Session Period carried out in Montevideo, Uruguay during March, 20 to 24, 2006. The views expressed in this document, which has been reproduced without formal editing, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Organization. Introduction In response to …

Gender, pensions and social citizenship in Latin America

A major part of the problem of providing high-quality welfare and social protection to the members of a society lies in the issue of how to distribute the responsibility for these services within the society -a problem referred to in this paper as the care dilemma . Different historical junctures and forms of social organization have witnessed different responses to this dilemma. Strictly speaking, the solution is a variable that depends on culture, level of institutional development, the distribution of the resources of power in a society and the ability of the different relevant s…

Productive development in open economies

Presentation The countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region have shown a keen and lasting interest in mechanisms of economic development and public policies for its promotion. This is a process in which ECLAC has been involved ever since it was founded over half a century ago. Today, the debate on these issues continues against the backdrop of a globalization process in which the remarkable dynamism of some dimensions -especially its economic, financial and cultural aspects- contrasts with the slow formation of an institutional network capable of coping with the increased interdepend…

Países llaman a revitalizar el compromiso con la Agenda 2030 y propiciar políticas y acciones renovadas y audaces para acelerar el cumplimiento de los ODS

Los países de América Latina y el Caribe instaron hoy a revitalizar el compromiso con la Agenda 2030 para el desarrollo sostenible y propiciar políticas y acciones renovadas y audaces para acelerar el paso hacia el cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), durante la inauguración de la séptima reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible, que se celebra hasta el jueves 18 en la sede principal de la CEPAL en Santiago, Chile. En la apertura del encuentro -que reúne a representantes de los 33 países de la región, de agencias de la…

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 role of insurance in social protection

Social protection systems have to cope with large discrepancies between the financing needed to cover demand and the resources actually available. For this reason, it is necessary for any reform proposal to include elements of cost restraint as well as measures to increase the population coverage of systems. Efficiency and solidarity must improve together if progress is to be made towards universality of benefits. Any reform strategy needs to consider not only the financial constraints imposed by the macroeconomy, but also the heavy drain on financial resources and the effects on the fiscal ac…

Workshop on Leaving No One Behind in the Caribbean: Building resilience through universal social protection

The workshop is being jointly organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), subregional headquarters for the Caribbean and Social Development Division, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility Segregated Portfolio Company (CCRIF SPC), leveraging the partners’ respective technical expertise. The overarching objective of the Subregional Workshop is to promote universal and comprehensive social protection systems in the Caribbean.…

La CEPAL y el Gobierno de Ciudad de México llaman a universalizar los derechos de las personas mayores

Ver galería de fotos (3 de junio, 2014) La Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), Alicia Bárcena, y el Jefe de Gobierno de la Ciudad de México, Miguel Ángel Mancera, llamaron hoy a universalizar los derechos de las personas mayores durante la inauguración de un foro internacional sobre esta materia que se celebrará hasta el 6 de junio en la capital mexicana. En la apertura del encuentro, denominado Segundo foro internacional sobre los derechos humanos de las personas mayores, participó también Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Secretaria de Desarrollo…

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…

Secretario Ejecutivo de la CEPAL se reunió con el Presidente de Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León

En el marco de su visita oficial al país, el Secretario Ejecutivo de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, se reunió hoy en Ciudad de Guatemala con el Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León, encuentro en el que dialogaron sobre la agenda actual de cooperación entre el Gobierno y el organismo regional de las Naciones Unidas y exploraron áreas de colaboración para el desarrollo de esta nación centroamericana. La CEPAL ha enfatizado la importancia de que los países de América Latina y el Caribe dinamicen su crecimi…

O Secretário Executivo da CEPAL se reuniu com o Presidente da Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León

No contexto de sua visita oficial ao país, o Secretário Executivo da Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe (CEPAL), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, se reuniu hoje na Cidade da Guatemala com o Presidente da República da Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León; nesse encontro dialogaram sobre a agenda atual de cooperação entre o governo e o organismo regional das Nações Unidas e exploraram áreas de colaboração para o desenvolvimento dessa nação centro-americana. A CEPAL enfatizou a importância de que os países da América Latina e do Caribe dinamizem seu crescimento e o tornem mais inclu…

ECLAC’s Executive Secretary Met with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León

In the framework of his official visit to the country, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, met today in Guatemala City with the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León, where they discussed the current cooperation agenda between the Government and the United Nations regional organization and explored areas of collaboration for the Central American nation’s development. ECLAC has stressed the importance of Latin American and Caribbean countries invigorating their growth and making…

Inclusive social protection and demographic change: The implications of population ageing for social expenditure in the Caribbean

As population age structures change over the coming decades, the cost of providing public education, pensions and health care will change significantly. Falling child dependency ratios and increasing old-age dependency ratios will affect the number of people that receive education and pension benefits. The changing age profile of the population will also affect the demand for health services. This study analyses how public expenditure in these areas, in 10 Caribbean countries, is likely to evolve in response to these demographic changes. It describes how populations are ageing in the Caribbean…

Policy Brief: Moving towards equal access to technology for persons with disabilities in the Caribbean

In the Caribbean, there are approximately 1.3 million persons with a disability of some kind and some 250,000 persons with a significant disability. These numbers are projected to increase dramatically in the coming decades as the population of the subregion ages and given the global increase in chronic health conditions. Persons with disabilities (PWDs) face a range of physical, social, attitudinal and institutional barriers that prevent their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. As a result, they experience less favorable outcomes in health, education, …

Presentation by honourable Gertrude Roberts, Minister for Community Development and Women's Affairs of Dominica

Socio-demographic vulnerability: old and new risks for communities, households and individuals

Vulnerability is an emerging issue that has been raised repeatedly in sociological analyses at the dawn of the twenty-first century and in debates on public policies aimed at alleviating poverty, promoting upward social mobility and empowering citizens. If this issue has been so topical, it is because a variety of factors, some highly controversial and others difficult to measure accurately, have contributed to the phenomenon. They include: the increasingly unstable macroeconomic context; the frequency with which households lapse into and emerge from poverty, a trend seen even among tradi…

Advancing the Decade of Action for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

The Regional Coordination Mechanism for the Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy

Social health protection for the elderly in the English-speaking Caribbean

The present paper seeks to contribute to the growing discussion on social protection through an assessment of the status of social health protection systems for the elderly within the English-speaking Caribbean, and a review of the systems in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. It was prepared as a background document for the Expert Group Meeting on Social Health Protection for Vulnerable Populations which was held in Port of Spain on 31 October 2011. Against the backdrop of demographic changes underway in the Caribbean, the paper analyses the schemes and mechanisms that have been instituted by M…