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UNFPA in Caribbean

UNFPA in Caribbean

UNFPA in Caribbean

UNFPA - Delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled

The UNFPA Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean (SROC) serves 22 countries and overseas territories in the English and Dutch-Speaking Caribbean.UNFPA promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. It does so by promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and equity and by promoting and supporting the use of population data in the formulation of national policies and programmes. 

The Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean  served by the UNFPA SROC include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Sint Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands. 

The Caribbean is a global leader in the tourism industry and many of the countries are also rich in natural resources such as timber, water, oil  and natural gas. At the same time, the Caribbean is characterized by a fragile ecosystem that is affected by natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes and the looming threat of extinction due to rising sea levels as a result of climate change. The region also grapples with the  challenges of high external migration, limited economic diversification, an ageing population, high youth unemployment, high levels of crime and violence, including gender-based violence; the levels of HIV/AIDS and adolescent pregnancy rates are second only to sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately 7.5 million people live here, with the largest concentrations in Jamaica (2.9 million), Trinidad and Tobago (1.4 million), Guyana (0.8 million) and Suriname (0.6 million). 

UNFPA Caribbean At a Glance

As the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA seeks to end unmet need for family planning, end preventable maternal death, and end gender-based violence (GBV) and other harmful practices by 2030. UNFPA has provided support to the Caribbean since 1969 and remains the largest international source of population assistance to governments, non-governmental organizations and civil society. Two (2) frameworks guide its efforts: The Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in 1994, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which the international development community committed itself  in the year 2015.
 

Key Results

Sexual and reproductive health in risk pooling schemes

1 country has integrated sexual and reproductive health services into risk pooling schemes

Sexual and reproductive health in emergency preparedness plans

4 have integrated sexual and reproductive health into emergency preparedness plans

Emergency obstetric and newborn care

2 met coverage for emergency obstetric and newborn care

Adolescent-friendly Sexual and reproductive health services

4 countries have provided quality assured adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services

Health services for sexual violence survivors

1 country has provided essential health services for survivors of sexual violence

Sexual and reproductive health/HIV index

1 country has applied the sexual and reproductive health/HIV integration index

Midwifery curricula: international standards

2 countries have implemented midwifery school curricula based on international standards

Midwifery curricula: inclusion of special needs

2 countries have included needs of persons with disabilities in midwife curricula

Adolescent health competencies

7 included adolescent health competencies in curricula of health professionals

Discrimination prevention in health curricula

3 countries have included prevention of stigma and discrimination in curricula of health professionals

Logistics management information system

2 countries have used a logistics management information system for forecasting and monitoring sexual and reproductive health commodities

Sexual and reproductive health indicators available

5 countries have periodically collected sexual and reproductive health indicators, and made them publically available

School-based comprehensive sexuality education

3 countries have operationalized comprehensive sexuality education curricula in accordance with international standards

Integration of sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth into strategies of sectors apart from health sector

3 countries have integrated sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth into strategies of sectors apart from health sector

Youth participation in policy and programmes

1 country has developed mechanisms for young people's participation in policy, programming, and peacebuilding

Reproductive rights, laws and policies

4 countries have strategies to align laws, policies and regulations on reproductive rights

Rights of marginalized groups

3 countries have rolled out intervention models or strategies that empower marginalized and excluded groups to exercise their reproductive rights

Multi-sector platforms

1 country has established platforms for dialogue on reproductive rights, fully engaging civil society, including faith-based and state actors

Inquiries into reproductive rights

1 country has conducted inquiries into the exercise of reproductive rights

Social norms change programmes

1 country has utilized UNFPA manual on social norms and change

Gender-based violence platform

1 country has a national mechanism to engage multiple stakeholders to prevent and address gender-based violence

Gender-based violence in emergencies

3 countries have applied at least 15 of the 18 minimum standards for the prevention of and response to gender-based violence in emergencies

National plans against harmful practices

3 countries have developed a costed national action plan to address harmful practices

Vital statistics

1 country has generated and published annual vital statistics based on civil registration

Population projections

3 countries have generated publically available population projections at national and subnational levels, disaggregated by age, sex, and location

Small area estimations

1 country has generated and used small area estimations of sexual and reproductive health indicators for programme planning

What we do

UNFPA works in more than 150 countries and territories that are home to the vast majority of the world’s people. Its mission: to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

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UNFPA in CO
Sub Regional Director

Sub Regional Director

Alison Drayton

Alison Drayton has served as the Director of the Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean since 2016. Prior to joining UNFPA she worked at UNDP for fifteen years in a series of functions both globally and in the Caribbean. As a Senior Advisor, Alison led the formulation of the 2016 Caribbean Human Development Report, which focused on multi-dimensional progress in the Caribbean. She also served in the Permanent Mission of Guyana to the UN, chairing the G77 on Sustainable Development, Administrative and Budgetary issues during Guyana’s chairmanship of the Group in 1999. Alison was in the NYU Masters Programme on Public Administration and holds a BA (Honours) in History and Politics from the University of London.
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