Poverty & Social Development: A Caribbean Perspective

Human Trafficking: Looking into Legislations and Practices

Human Trafficking is a growing issue that involves many aspects with the way a government position its action plans to address the conditions behind the problem.

And to fully comprehend the factors linked with this phenomenon requires direct harmonization in policy and research capacity, to strengthen the impacts of actions taken in practices.

If Human Trafficking is classified as a human rights violation that evolves along the denials of basic rights in education, health, decent work, security and justice, those elements call for an overhaul of existing interventions and regulations to confront the root-causes of the problematique. And by looking into the impacts and results of some legislations for policy-makers it could be an interesting shift in thinking, if of course weighing the relationships between poverty and human trafficking, and the ways to provide policy and practices with appropriate tools to tackle these two intermingled issues and their impacts on vulnerable groups through sustained exposures to deprivation and exploitation.

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Education and catastrophe
H.G. WELLS once wrote, “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.”

Each year there is a sort of pageantry whenever the results for the SSEE, the CSEC, CAPE and the A-level Examinations are announced.

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Tags: Caribbean Development Education Human Development Institutional Strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation Public Policy Policy Analysis Guyana

*In regards to capacity building in public information about the threat of Avian and Pandemic flu, the IDB is hosting a conference (August 31, 2006) that will target members of the press, communication professionals, and specialists for the Caribbean and Latin-American zone.

A recent article raised my eyebrows and I was shaken to read these perspectives about the relationships between climate change and future poverty levels for Latin-America and the Caribbean.

Quotes:

“latin-America and the Caribbean face a future of devastation and poverty as climate change continues to worsen extreme weather levels in the region, it has been claimed”.

Now letting the heat cool off a bit these issues bring to the forefront the whole paradigms liaised to pollution and environment as socially constructed dynamics.

Questions: How governments should tackle this pending phenomenon? Can it be approached through the implementation of restrictions/regulations and taxations?

Or:

Through increased focus upon the expansion of community driven programs as ways to leverage inter-societal and relational perspectives to strengthen wellbeing, social capital, improve the quality of life, and tackle environmental protection?

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Tags: Caribbean Development Economics Human Development Human security Environmental Protection Institutional Strengthening Community Development Climate Change Social Capital Monitoring and Evaluation Participatory Development Poverty Reduction Strategies Public Policy Sustainable development Well Being

Antigua & Barbuda: Taking Head-on ICT and business Development

"There is a direct relationship between the rate of economic and social development and the accessibility and affordability of technology. The use of ICTs is integral to the successful development of any business, Government business or Private Sector business," Dr. Mansoor says

This statement translates the government’s stance to expand ICTs and link up economic growth with balanced business models. By launching a public consultation about these issues, the Ministry of Information can be credited to take bold steps toward the dissemination of its national policy re ICT. And certainly, as part of this process there will be gains as to provide best practices vis-à-vis planning and regulations, and the role of ICT as a contributor to growth, labor quality and productivity.

The consultation kicks-off on August 31, 2006, Jolly Beach Resort, and for further insights click here.

Netherlands Antilles policy towards the Caribbean is one of committed neighbour

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao: In preparation for a trade mission of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Curacao to Barbados during the first week of September, State Secretary of Finance, Alex Rosaria, recently delivered a speech about the policy of the Government towards the Caribbean.

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Tags: Caribbean Development Policy Making Institutional Strengthening Netherlands Antilles Regional Cooperation

This publication by the UNDP assembles the latest results and trackings toward the MDG goals for Latin-America and the Caribbean.

The document provides readers with an analysis about the trends and futures for the MDGs in the region by highlighting a methodological approach that combines the use of cross-national analyses, country classification based on per capita income levels to complement other indicators about regional living standards. This is a significant analytical work paving the ways for harmonized research techniques and data gatherings where some variables as children under-nutrition, primary schooling are also taken into consideration in order to reflect and broaden the scope of monitoring & evaluation exercises along with the specificities of Latin-American and Caribbean countries.

Tags: UNDP MDGs Capacity Building Caribbean Development Economics Human Development Institutional Strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation Policy Analysis Policy Making Poverty Reduction Strategies Public Policy Rural Development Sustainable development

*The information provided below come late for any registration for the upcoming session of the Oxford Course 2006, on Human Development set for September.

Nonetheless they migth prove handy for the next session scheduled in September 2008.

The course will draw on the extensive intellectual resources of Oxford, as well as the practical experience of leading analysts from international development agencies and institutions.

Kristen Lewis
Human Development Report Office, UNDP
304 East 45th Street, 12th floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
kristen.lewis@undp.org
Fax: (212) 906-5161

by HENRY FRASER

"Doctors are always working to preserve our health and cooks to destroy it, but the latter are the more often successful." Denis Diderot (1713 – 1784)

"Every healthy man is king." (Gaelic proverb)

"Health is better than wealth." (English proverb)

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Tags: HIV/AIDS Human Development Health Policy Caribbean Development Social Policy CARICOM

Hooray for that One!

While chasing the truth over the internet I was glad a few minutes ago to bump into a document by JASPEV’s Technical Working Group (TWG) which is a Jamaican think tank tracking progress in social development for the country.

As some of you will see, this document named: “Annual Progress Report 2003 on National Social Policy Goals”, is not an outdated one, but rather part of an ongoing exercise in Monitoring and Evaluation gearing toward the release of the 2005 review. And as part of this process the analysis was pushed further by integrating a gender analysis (updated in April 2006) in its core, in order to demonstrate and link up government policies with gender dynamics, and indicators to measure progress in social development. This is an interesting initiative that will certainly enlarge discussion, in the comparisons of composite measures in gender inequality with other ongoing works about the GDI (Gender Development Index), GEM (Gender Empowerment Measure) and policy responses vis-à-vis the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), PRSPs among others.

Tags: Capacity Building Caribbean Development Human Development Monitoring and Evaluation Policy Making PRSP Gender and Development Jamaica Institutional Strengthening Gender Analysis Social Policy Rural Development Sustainable development MDGs

To Attack Poverty is not A Mere Planning Exercise

When concentrating on a broad approach in Poverty Reduction Strategies, governments have to weigh numerous aspects embedded with political and social dynamics and the adaptation of those components with the functionings of market mechanisms. If approaching matters of reforms without adequate commitment to the development of social opportunities, we can witness some discrepancies within the process of development, and its approach to liberalization schemes. In fact, issues that are clearly pertinent with the terms and forms of planning to execute budget allocations and public expenditures for social investments, and education programming, see here.
Amidst these patterns and the relationships between market mechanisms and public goods, arguments about the latter, can effectively support the benefits associated with the expansion of education and literacy as means to strengthen communal benefits and enhance economic progress and social change; but also pin-point to the adaptation of the former by scrutinizing its regulations when it comes to economic openness, and the relevance of its institutional lay-outs.

Tags: Poverty Reduction Strategies Caribbean Development Dominican Republic Human Development Economics Institutional Strengthening Education Monitoring and Evaluation Participatory Development Budgeting Policy Analysis Social Policy

From Limited Exposures to Full… Full Public Disclosure

How is that for a surprise! Yes indeed, the World Bank has made available and public, information about its loan operations and borrowing countries.

In the database, the public at large will be happy to find financial details about projects, sector lending, credits, grant disbursements, and the list goes on and on….

*So here we go, Country Aggregate Report

Youth and Issues of Capacity Building and Advocacy for AIDS Prevention Programs

From 17-19 August 2006 an initiative under the Umbrella of the Mini-Grant Project (MGP) of the CARICOM Youth Ambassador Initiative took place in Antigua.

Well, as a significant step into the strengthening and capacity building of youth leadership in sustainable development, this workshop/gathering has added up some momentums to sustain innovative approaches in development, by positioning common concerns with “Quality of Life”, and programmatic applications toward the assessment of people’s living conditions.

Tags: HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Human Development Poverty Reduction Strategies Health Policy Participatory Development CARICOM Youth Leadership Antigua Social Policy Sustainable Development Monitoring and Evaluation

The Search for the CXC Results

I know that some of you guys out there have been preoccupied with the results for the 2006 CXC examinations. So, if it can be of any help….

*Information on Examinations from the Caribbean Examination Council

Tags: Education Caribbean Development Monitoring and Evaluation CXC

Buzzing over Nurses’ Training and Capacity Building

In what seems to be an overhaul toward employees’ retention programs, and skills assessment for human resources management and capacity building, the PM of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit has highlighted a national policy agenda to address the shortage of Nurses for the country. For the past years Dominica has been confronting an acute shortage of labor in the nursing field.

Thus, a phenomenon which brings to the surface some issues about the adaptation of its labor market vis-à-vis certain incentive systems to strengthen the economy, and at the same time guarantee delivery of some public services to sustain sectoral activities.
In the case of the health-care sector, these perspectives come closer to matters of choices to guide public expenditures, and strike the right balance for economic development, and sustained access between the provision of medical care, and high quality standards in health services. These elements open a broad landscape to conduct discussions about public policy and the dynamics and determinants that are rooted between equity and efficiency.

Tags: Capacity Building Economics Health Policy Human Development Institutional Strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation Policy Analysis Poverty Reduction Strategies Caribbean Development Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit SWAPs

“The project will help make international remittance services more secure and efficient,” said MIF Team Leader Federico de Arteaga. “This will be achieved by promoting greater transparency and consumer protection, an improved payment system infrastructure for small cross-border payments, a more sound legal and regulatory framework, greater competition and market access, and more developed risk management systems.”

The IDB through its Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) has approved the deployment of technical cooperation with central banks, and the disbursement of a US$ 1,759,000 grant to strengthen and promote General Principles for Latin-America and Caribbean Remittances.
As a critical development, the application or implementation of such framework comes just in time to broaden future prospects for remittance flows, and their social and economic impacts on receiving countries.
It goes without saying that the needs to address matters of social exclusion for the region, and also expanding access to economic opportunities are major catalysts to position remittances within an adapted regulatory framework, and an enhanced financial architecture.

This announcement can be a good starting point to tackle and address the transfers and dissemination of remittances by taking into consideration broad-scale development initiatives, and the adaptation of banking systems, i.e., micro-finance institutions to address the needs of the poor, reduce transaction costs and leverage community developments.

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*Third Conference on the Effective Application of Geographic Information (GIS), Bahamas, October 30 - November 2, 2006.

*SPAW COP IV, Jamaica, Montego Bay, Nov. 2006.

Tags: Capacity Building Caribbean Development Innovation Monitoring and Evaluation Sustainable development Environmental Protection & Safety Geographic Information System

Evaluation of World Bank Support

Over the past 15 years, primary education projects in developing countries gave high priority to increasing enrollments in primary schools. Much less attention was directed to the crucial issue of whether children are actually learning. Of the primary education projects funded by the World Bank, only 20 percent have an explicit objective to help children improve learning outcomes including such basic skills as reading and writing. Some 90 percent of the projects support quality improvements, usually in terms of better educational inputs such as books and teacher training, but only about 35 percent target and track improved student learning as made evident by, for example, better reading, writing and mathematical skills.

For the evaluation, IEG reviewed over 700 primary education projects from 1990 onward. According to IEG, 69 percent of World Bank projects designed to improve access to education succeeded in achieving their expansion goals. During the past 15 years, net enrollment rates increased in developing countries from about 82 percent of the relevant age group to about 86 percent. Enrollment expansion has generally come through supply-side interventions such as new schools and classrooms within easy walking distance, hiring more teachers, and activating community support. Governments have also increased demand by eliminating school fees and providing girls scholarships.

To Continue Reading the Report

Tags: Capacity Building Education Human Development Monitoring and Evaluation Poverty Reduction Strategies Public Policy Social Policy International Development

How Can We Talk about a New Paradigm in Development approaches for Cuba?

Over the last couple of days, many of us have heard or read diverse speculations re the latest changes that have affected Cuba, with the “temporary” transfer of power from “Fidel” to his brother “Raul”, see here.

In the lights of those recent developments, futures for Cuba still remain opaque as the country keep experiencing steep economic decline in a process that can be summed up as de-development. As a matter of fact, given the dire economic realities lingering over the country these due to geopolitical and macro-economic factors that have created unbalances in growth and development, I cannot help thinking about the prospects linked with new structural linkages to reposition development assistance, and funding. Are these Myths or realities? These questions or perspectives evolve within a framework that call for more inquiries into the process of international regulatory frameworks, and the current nature of global economic governance under which the role of development policy have to weigh the external factors, and the structural patterns behind funding in development projects.

Tags: Economic RecoveryGrowth Human DevelopmentCuba Caribbean DevelopmentPoverty Reduction StrategiesPolicy Making

Universal Access to Care, HIV/AIDS Prevention and Social Change

With the 16^th International AIDS Conference underway in Toronto, CA, it has been encouraging to see that Caribbean leaders are embracing the development of a comprehensive agenda to tackle the AIDS pandemic. As a matter of fact, numerous calls have been raised to support the integration of a strategic vision gearing toward the provision of universal access for HIV/AIDS preventions (see here).
These latest developments are essential to follow up, as for the Caribbean region such perspectives align the process of health sector reforms within a paradigm for social change.
These transformational dynamics highlight the expansion of understandings vis-à-vis certain typologies in health systems as structures that should connect with social, economic and political variables in order to conceptualize and develop more inclusive approaches in development, and human-rights based practices.
For such archetypes introduce on one hand the capacity to address matters of exclusion and inequalities, while on the other hand providing adjustments in access to care with the policy responses needed to map out the needs of marginalized groups.

And in more coverage…..

*Funding to support the strengthening of communication campaigns and Capacity Building

*And here

*The WFP “Food and health Program” in Haiti

A Tale of Human Security in Haiti (Part II)

As an interesting point of discussion, the concept of human security can be attracting if we look into the dynamics behind post-conflict situations, and the role of development mechanisms when multi-dimensional variables are essential to be reckoned with.
Moreover, to approach the notion of human security is also a way to examine or weigh policy options in relation to the current changes that have been taking place in development thinking, and the arrangements that come with, or mold the deployment of peace-building frameworks in conflict ridden, or post-conflicts environments.
These are elements that not only draw attention about the impacts of such scenarios on development effectiveness, but also on the inter-connected factors behind hunger, chronic poverty, well being and community empowerment.

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Tags: Human SecurityHuman Development Poverty Reduction Strategies Policy Making HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Caribbean Development EmpowermentHaiti Free-Trade ConflictsEconomic Recovery

Et Voila…..

How to sustain growth and channel re-distributive policies? The recent rounds of discussions between the president of the IDB, and Leonel Fernandez, president of the D.R. have clearly depicted the directions of future policy options for the country. And adding an interesting flavor to those discussions have been the linkages between macro-economic stabilization procedures and growth-mediated processes.

“IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno also stated that in order to ensure inclusive growth, it is necessary to deepen the macro-economic measures already taken by the dominican government, and to adopt other measures that are pending. Among these pending measures, the most important are consolidating the tax reforms of the last two years, improving the targeting of the poor in the government’s social expenditures, strengthening the Central Bank’s capacity to control inflation, and taking measures to increase the economy’s international competitiveness.”

For planners and policy-makers, these scenarios will be testing grounds to harness the deployment and utilization of the improved economic landscape toward the expansion of social services, and budgeting operations to cover social expenditures. Thus, come to the front-burners the questions liaised with the effective increase of real-income per capita, and improvements in human development indicators, inter alia, to strengthen the process of development along with enhancements in the quality of life.

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