Department of Social Development and Employment Organization of American States Introduction to the Caribbean Reality: Policy and Development Julie Nurse

Department of Social Development and EmploymentOrganization of American States

Introduction to the CaribbeanReality: Policy and Development

Julie NurseSpecialist

Department of Social Development and Employment (DDSE)

“Network-Based Capacity Building on Social Protection Strategies for the Caribbean”


Planning Meeting for Puente Program in the Caribbean

Department of Social Development and Employment


Comparative Country ProfilesCountry Population Area

(sq. km)DevelopmentIndicators

GDP Per Capita (USD)

HIV/AIDS Ethnic Groups

Jamaica 2, 660, 700 10, 991 HDI: 0.724Rank: #104Poverty: 14.8%

4,163 1.2% Black: 90.9%E. Indian: 1.3%Mixed: 7.3%White: 0.2%Chinese: 0.2%Other: 0.1%

Trinidad & Tobago

1, 300, 000 5128 0.809#57Poverty: 24%

8,000 3.2% E. Indian: 40%Black: 37.5%Mixed: 20.5%Other: 1.2%Unspecified: 0.8%

St. Lucia 164, 842 616 HDI0.790Rank: #71Poverty: 28.8%

5,520 Just under 1 % Black: 90%Mixed: 6%E. Indian: 3%White: 1%

Chile 16.1 million 756, 950 HDI 0.859Rank: #38Poverty: 18.2%

10, 874 0.3%(0.1-1.2)5

White & white-Amerindian: 95%Amerindian: 3%Other: 2%


Common Developmental Challenges and Risks in the

Caribbean• Poverty• Crime • Vulnerability to natural disasters• Vulnerability to Macroeconomic Shocks • Increased prevalence of HIV/AIDS• Unemployment • External Migration • Growth of informal sector


Groups at Risk• The poor• Children (street children in Trinidad and Tobago and

Jamaica; victims of incest)• Youth• Persons with Disabilities• Persons living with HIV/AIDS • The elderly• Rural Dwellers• Women, particularly single mothers• Displaced Farmers (St. Lucia and to a less extent,

Jamaica)


Macroeconomic Shocks

• High exposure and vulnerability to global economic forces due to:– Small, open economies embedded in global markets

(oil, bananas)– High level of imports: food import bill, other

necessities– Export of goods and services whose prices are

externally-determined, they are primarily price-takers (agricultural products, tourism)

– Impact of global policies and trading arrangements


Poverty• A major problem for all three countries• Primarily affects: women, children, the youth, elderly and rural

areas• Rural poverty: in St. Lucia the severity of poverty varies from

1.8 in Castries (capital city) to 9.6 in Anse La Raye /Canaries, a rural fishing village

• Trinidad and Tobago 2004: Unemployment among males:6.4 and 11.2% among females

• Growth in informal sector as a means of coping with poverty. Reduction of poverty in Jamaica has been attributed largely to growth in informal sector


Crime• High rates of violent crime in all three countries:

– St. Lucia: homicide accounts for 26.8% of all external (unnatural) causes of death

• Drug Trafficking and abuse…transnational networks• Gang violence particularly in Jamaica, also rising in St.

Lucia. Culture associated with gang violence in Jamaica: effects on family/children, schools/ underground economy

• Increased incidence of kidnapping in Trinidad and Tobago


Natural Disasters• Relatively small size and location makes the countries

particularly vulnerable to:– Hurricanes and storms - Floods– Earthquakes - Volcanoes

• The poor have been worst affected by natural disasters due to:– Location of houses in unsafe areas such as coastlines

and steep slopes (squatting)– Poor and unstable housing structures– Rural Occupations: fishing and agriculture– Lack of insurance


HIV/AIDS• High prevalence rate in the Caribbean, second only to Sub-

Saharan Africa– Jamaica: 1.2%– Trinidad and Tobago: 3.2%– St. Lucia: just under 1%

• Most vulnerable: children/youth and women– 2005 Second Caribbean Summit on Children and HIV/AIDS,

T&T• Factors which compound the problem:

– Culture of intolerance/fear leading to significant under-reporting

– Accepted culture of multiple partners and risky behavior– Activities of migrant farm workers, bus drivers, commercial

sex workers and tourist-related workers


Migration• Historically, important strategy in coping with unemployment

and poverty from region to USA, UK, CanadaImplications:

– Economic: brain drain; nurses, farmers, teachers, university graduates

– Family: dynamics; children in the care of elderly grandparents, relatives and neighbors; school performance and delinquency

– Deportation of criminals and illegal migrants: impact on crime, family, employment

– Remittances: Jamaica as highest per capita recipient in LAC and recipients are 3.6% less likely to participate in labor force.


General Review of Social Protection Strategies in

Caribbean• Failure of demand driven approach to reach communities with

low Social Capital (poor networks) while others enjoy benefits from multiple sources

• Lack of coherence of project–based interventions and various policies

• Skills training does not always guarantee employment• Programs are generally weak on the risk prevention side;

heavy focus on mitigation and coping strategies


General Review of Social Protection Strategies in

Caribbean • Institutional weaknesses which limit effective

implementation of programs• Limited (private and social) insurance, which does not

focus adequately on the vulnerable groups• Poor targeting, resulting in leakages of services and

resources to non-vulnerable/ non-poor groups.


Challenges in Effecting Technical Transfer from Chile to Caribbean

• Cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic differences• Programmatic integration and coherence• Difference in scale: country size and extent of poverty:

– Chile : 225,000 families or about 900 000 persons– Jamaica: 393, 784 individuals– Trinidad and Tobago: 312 000 individuals– St. Lucia:47,475 individuals

• The effectiveness of a family-based approach to community-based, or national problems: e.g. limited supply of public goods, unemployment?


More Challenges• Majority of interventions in the countries are community

focused or targeted at specific individuals; family-based programs are few (St. Lucia) and/or disintegrated (Trinidad and Tobago).

• What are the requirements and implications of a shift from demand-driven to targeted, supply-side approach

• Finding appropriate strategies to address specific problems of rural and urban poverty

• The effectiveness of local government structures varies among the countries…particularly weak in St. Lucia

• Transferability and applicability of current Puente Pillars…need for Caribbean-specific pillars e.g. natural disaster???


On The Brighter Side

In spite of the challenges, there are critical strengths/resources to be drawn upon:

• Commitment of the Caribbean countries• Technical expertise of Chile FOSIS team• DSDE’s experience in executing technical transfers• Value-added from academic input of UWI• General recognition by Caribbean of need for program harmonization• Legacy of Puente

Documents

Department of Social Development and Employment Organization of American States Introduction to the Caribbean Reality: Policy and Development Julie Nurse