UNFPA sub-regional director pays courtesy call to Health Minister
DPI, Guyana, Saturday, April 21, 2018
The Director and Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Allison Drayton visited Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence, on April 20, to discuss the forward thrust of developing sexual and reproductive services in Guyana.
Further, the meeting, held at the minister’s office, sought to determine how the UNFPA can lend further support in advancing a drafted action plan related to local sexual and reproductive health.
(From left to right) Allison Drayton, Director and Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence and UNFPA Liaison Officer in Guyana, Alder Bynoe
Minister Lawrence indicated to the director that consultations have been planned in this regard and will begin shortly. Drayton, in an invited comment, said that she was also here to lend advice where needed on the implementation of a more integrated Human and Family Life Education (HFLE) programme. The UNFPA Director noted that Guyana, among the entire English-speaking Caribbean, has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate.
Another major objective of the meeting is the revitalization of the UNFPA’s work in Guyana, and also the lending of technical support in the utilization of the recently acquired $8M IDB loan to improve Maternal and Child (Sexual and reproductive) health.
Drayton was accompanied by UNFPA Liaison Officer in Guyana, Alder Bynoe.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) envisions a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
The Fund works with governments at their request to support national development programmes. UNFPA is represented in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean through a Sub-Regional Office (SRO) based in Jamaica.
By: Delicia Haynes