World Population Day 2015

World Population Day is observed on July 11 each year to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, particularly in the context of overall development and to enhance awareness of population issues, including their relations to the environment and development. This year’s theme is “Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies”. Countries in the Caribbean staged various activities to mark the day.

They included a training session for first responders in Trinidad and Tobago to build and strengthen their capacity in humanitarian response during emergencies with a focus on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Approximately, twenty-five (25) first responders from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPM), Government Ministries and other support agencies participated in the training and were presented with certificates of participation. Read more…

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150704/news/women-most-vulnerable-during-disasters

In Jamaica, Ronald Jackson, Executive Director, Caribbean Disaster Management Agency (CDEMA) delivered a public lecture on the theme. He called for greater prioritization of the natural environment through adequate budgetary allocations and the effective enforcement of legislation to reduce the level of vulnerability, particularly for those who are most at risk including women and girls. “We must as a priority, restore the balance within our natural environment as the basis for driving vulnerability down and sustaining the resilience building process given the inextricable link that our socio-economic growth and development has with our natural environment.”

He also stressed the importance of capturing and integrating social data and in particular, sex disaggregated data, and cautioned that preventing hazard impacts from becoming disasters, requires involvement from all sectors, not just those in disaster management.