Transcript Social Protection in the Caribbean

Elaborated by:
Alexander, Jemma C.
James, Elke R.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ( SVG)
lies between Saint Lucia and Grenada in
the Windward Islands of the Lesser
Antilles, an island arc of the Caribbean
Sea.
It’s a small multi-island State with an
approximate size of 150.3 square miles,
comprised of a main land, St. Vincent,
and a chain of thirty-four islands and
cays known as the Grenadines
GOVERNMENT:
Parliamentary Democracy
HEAD OF STATE:
Queen Elizabeth II
GOVERNOR GENERAL : Sir Frederick Ballantyne
PRIME MINISTER :
Hon Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves
INDEPENDENCE:
October 27, 1979.
SUBDIVISIONS:
Six parishes.
POLITICAL PARTIES:
Unity Labour Party (ULP)
New Democratic Party(NDP)
SVG Green Party (GP)
The Parliamentary term of office is
five years.
SVG is a participating member of:
 Caribbean Community(CARICOM)
 Organization of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS)
 CARICOM Single Market and
Economy (CSME)
POPULATION: 118,149 (June 2008 est).

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$1.042 billion; per capita $9,800

Real growth rate: 6.6%.

Inflation: 6.1%.

Exports: $193 million (2006):.

Imports: $578 million (2006):
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Unemployment : 21.1%
Life Expectancy
Men 69 years; women 74
Birth Rate
16 /1000
Infant Mortality Rate
17/1000
Adult literacy
88.1%
School Drop out rate (2007)
1.39
Access to Potable Water
95%
years
The area of social insurance is the responsibility of
National Insurance Scheme ( NIS).
Benefits: sickness, invalidity, maternity, age,
survivors, retirement, funeral and employment
injury.
The Maximum Insurable Earnings- $4333 per
month or $1000 per week, total Contribution rate –
8 % (3.5% Employee’s – 4.5% Employers)
The NIS expanded its service in 2007
to include voluntary contributors, selfemployed coverage and employment
injury.
It has also made contributions in the field of
education and health, constructed two
centres for the elderly and instituted a NonContributory Assistance Age Pension
( NAAP).
There is a need for a National Health
Insurance Programme in SVG.
SVG faces serious structural
limitations to its social and economic
development.
Critical among these are
Its open economy, adverse terms of
trade, vulnerability to natural disasters,
rising crime rate and increasing globalization.
On the other hand, there is clearly a
positive trend towards economic growth,
strengthening of governance and
political will to address frontally the critical
challenge of poverty faced by a large
segment of the population.
The economy of SVG is fuelled by
agriculture and tourism. Development in the
World Trade Organization and trade
liberalization have severely reduced income
from the banana industry.
Although there has been a decline in the
contribution of agriculture to GDP in recent
years, it is still the most important
productive sector in terms of its contribution
to employment and the government’s fight
against poverty particularly in rural areas.
The Tourism sector had experienced
decline in visitor arrivals in the last ten
years.
The government has embarked on the
development and expansion of a robust
security system as its multi island ports of
entry to attract tourist from North
America and Europe.
The data presented by the 2001
Population and Housing Census
indicates, an increased unemployment
rate of 21.1% from 1991 with a higher
rate among males .
Despite the thrust of the Government
towards Poverty Reduction, it is fair to
say that tackling national
unemployment will continue to be a
long term challenge.
The GOVSVG has launched specific
initiatives :

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
To generate employment opportunities
for poor and vulnerable persons in
Tourism, Agriculture and the Small and
Micro-enterprise sector.
Investment in human capital through
education and training .
Instituted an educational strategy
aimed at providing secondary school
education to all primary school leavers .
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Low income housing programme.
Improvements in airport development,
transportation, water, telecommunications
and electricity services.
Investments in disaster preparedness.
Broad macroeconomic policies.
Implementation of the Interim Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper (IPRSP).
The Government of SVG and, in particular,
The Ministry of National Mobilisation, Social
Development, Youth and Sports has
commissioned this Social Sector Plan (SSP)
as a strategic tool to guide its work until
the year 2011.
General Objective:

To develop the social infrastructure of
SVG.
 To empower the poor and the
vulnerable.
Name of
Programme
Area of
Focus
Persons
targeted
Social Welfare
Vote
Health
Social Welfare
Assistance
Public Assistance
Health
Persons who are
unable to pay for
health care
Orphans
Health
Organization
Nutrition Support
Programme
Health
National
Scale
Name of
Programme
Area of
Focus
Persons
targeted
School Feeding
Programme
Education
Primary School
Book Loan
Scheme
School
Transportation
Education
Secondary School
Education
Children living in
rural area
Early Childhood
Education
Programme
Adult Education
and Illiteracy
Programme
Education
National scale
Education
Adults who
need educational
enrichment
Name of Programme
Persons
targeted
Public Assistance:
Needy children in
primary and
secondary school

Educational assistance ,
Day care services, meals,
transportation
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Co-facilitate the re-entry of teen
mothers into educational
institutions

Provision of Low-Income
Homes and No Income
Homes
Teenage Mothers
Poor and Indigent
Persons
Name of
Programme
Persons targeted
Type of
Institution
Services
Cooperative
Development
Programme
Community
Empowerment
Programme
Poor
Communities
Public
NGO’s
Private
Public
NGO’s
Private
Social Safety
Net
Programme
Household and
communities
Vulnerable
individuals
Public
Name of Programme
Persons
targeted
Type of
Institution
Services
Home Help for the Elderly
Elderly
Foster Care Services
200 abused and
abandoned
children
Public
NGO’s
Private
Public
NGO’s
Private
Public
NGO’s
Private
Child Care and Protection Abandoned and
neglected children
v Rehabilitation and
reintegration of street
children
Family Empowerment
Families
Public
NGO’s
Private
Name of Programme
Persons
targeted
Type of
Institution/
Services
Gender Development
Programme
Men and women
Public
NGO
Private
Programme for
Persons with
DisAbilities
Persons with
disabilities
Poverty Reduction
Programme
Poor households
Public
NGO’s
Private
Public
NGO’s
Private
Communities
Programme for the
Elderly
Elderly
Public
NGO
Private
NAME OF PROGRAMME
Community Outreach Activity
Disaster Assistance
Children Against Poverty
Youth Empowerment Programme
Liberty Lodge Boys Training Centre
PERSONS
TARGETED
Persons with HIV/
AIDS
Communities
Victims of natural or
man-made disaster
Primary school
children with low
academic
achievement.
700 Youths
Boys from poor ,
dysfunctional and
disadvantage families
Estimated Total Public Expenditure (2009) : 71.600 000
Allocation of funds
Social Welfare
Vote
$275 000
Social Welfare
Assistance
$600 000
Public
Assistance
$50 000
Nutrition Support
Programme
$849 774
Targeting
Mechanism:
• Self selection
Targeting
• Certain
organizations
Estimated Total Public Expenditure ( 2009) :
$98, 185 ,960
School Feeding
Programme
$2,221, 853
Adult & Continuing
Education
Programme
$2, 435, 044
Book Loan
Scheme
$ 1,500,000
School
Transportation
Targeting
Mechanism:
• Self selection targeting
Estimate Total Public Expenditure : $17, 725,616
Administration
$1,096 800
Cooperative
Division
$491, 699
Youth Affairs
Division
$464, 167
Family Affairs
Division
$11,732, 982
Community
Development
$719, 273
Home Help
for the Elderly
$1,026, 722
Gender Affairs
Division
$214, 437
Sports
Division
$1,258, 434
Liberty Lodge
Boys Training
Centre
$72, 102
Targeting Mechanisms:
Eligible Persons are identified
via various stakeholders.
 Self selection targeting
 Community based targeting
 Geographical targeting
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Who is registered?
All persons born in St. Vincent and
the Grenadines.
When they are registered?
Within 1 yr after birth.
By whom?
By parents or guardians at the
Registry or at Revenue Offices
(applicable to births in some rural
areas and the Grenadines.)
Information Required:
The date of the birth
Where the baby was born
The baby's full name
The mother's and father’s full name
Occupation of mother and father.
Age of mother
Order of birth
Sex of the child
Date registered
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For what purpose?

To record the number of births in
a given year and vital events of
its citizens.

To create a data source for the
compilation of vital statistics.