A cohort of over 20 professionals from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ healthcare and criminal justice sectors has completed an intensive capacity-building program focused on social and behavioral change methodologies. The two-day interactive workshop, a component of the broader Build Back Equal initiative, equipped participants with advanced techniques for designing culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive strategies to advance gender equality nationwide.
The program received substantial funding from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada, with technical facilitation provided by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the Vincentian government. The workshop’s opening ceremony featured addresses from multiple cabinet ministers, underscoring the national importance placed on gender equity and youth development.
Minister Kaschacka Cupid of Youth, Sports, Culture and Creative Industries emphasized the government’s commitment to investing in the nation’s youth, describing them as “the most vital resource the nation possesses.” He articulated the administration’s recognition that addressing complex challenges facing young people requires “a profound and sustained investment in their behaviour, their health and their future agency.”
Representing Canada’s development partnership, Second Secretary TruTrang Nguyen reiterated Canada’s steadfast commitment to gender equality in the Eastern Caribbean, emphasizing the necessity of multi-stakeholder collaboration. “Gender Equality, and an end to violence, can only be achieved when we all seek to treat each other equally, recognize situations of inequality that need to be addressed, and are sensitive to the needs of the most vulnerable,” Nguyen stated.
UNFPA Liaison Officer De-Jane Gibbons outlined the agency’s global “three zeros” mandate while calling for formal government adoption of the Standards for Quality Healthcare Services for Adolescents and a comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy. These policy frameworks would represent significant steps toward ensuring all Vincentians can realize their full sexual and reproductive rights while contributing meaningfully to national development.
The Build Back Equal project, jointly implemented by UN Women and UNFPA across four Eastern Caribbean nations from 2022-2026, takes a comprehensive approach to addressing barriers women face in accessing sexual reproductive health services and economic empowerment opportunities. This regional initiative aligns with UNFPA’s broader mission to create a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.