Project enhances social, behavioural change skills in SVG

At least 20 professionals from healthcare and criminal justice organisations across St. Vincent and the Grenadines have enhanced skills in social and behaviour change.

They gained these skills and competencies through an interactive two-day workshop where they learned to design culturally appropriate, gender-sensitive tools and strategies in support of achieving gender equality, across St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

The workshop was funded in part by the Government of Canada and facilitated by UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, in partnership with the Government of SVG.

Kaschacka Cupid, minister of youth, sports, culture and the creative industries, who delivered the feature address at the formal launch of the workshop, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the youth of SVG, whom he described as “the most vital resource the nation possesses…

“We know that to truly achieve prosperity, we must address the complex challenges that prevent our youth from realising their full potential … It requires a profound and sustained investment in their behaviour, their health and their future agency.”

TruTrang Nguyen, second secretary (development), Global Affairs Canada, underscored Canada’s commitment to gender equality in SVG and the need for the continued partnership between government, civil society and community leaders across the country.

 “Gender Equality, and an end to violence, can only be achieved when we all seek to treat each other equally, recognise situations of inequality that need to be addressed, and are sensitive to the needs of the most vulnerable,” Nguyen said.

De-Jane Gibbons, liaison officer for UNFPA in Barbados and OECS, shared UNFPA’s global goal of three zeros: zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices.

 She stressed the need for the government’s continued commitment to health services and their delivery.

Gibbons called on the government to formally adopt the Standards for Quality Healthcare Services for Adolescents in SVG as well as the Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy.

Their approval will be part of a broader initiative to ensure that “every Vincentian has the knowledge, agency and freedom to realise their full sexual and reproductive rights … meaningfully contributing to the development of St. Vincent and the Grenadines”.

Also in attendance at the workshop’s opening ceremony were Shevern John, minister of Social Welfare and Community Empowerment, Disaster Management and National Heritage, and Phillip Jackson, minister of Education, Vocational Training, Innovation and Digital Transformation.

The Build Back Equal Project & UNFPA

Funded in part by the Government of Canada (through Global Affairs Canada), the Build Back Equal (BBE) project aims to improve the economic and social equality for women and girls by taking a comprehensive approach to addressing the barriers women face to sexual reproductive health services and products, economic empowerment and providing increased sustainable opportunities for their economic growth.

The BBE project is currently running from 2022 to 2026 in Dominica, Grenada, SVG and St. Lucia. It is jointly implemented by UN Women and UNFPA.

UNFPA aims to deliver 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 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.