First Lady underscores need to focus on vulnerable groups -as special needs of women and girls take spotlight at UNFPA Forum on Disaster Preparedness
First Lady Sandra Granger ( left) with Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence
First Lady Sandra Granger ( left) with Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence

FIRST LADY, Sandra Granger yesterday underscored the need for more attention to be given to vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, women and girls in times of disasters and other displacement situations here in Guyana.The First Lady was at the time addressing a gathering of representatives from the United Nations, Non-Government Organisations and other stakeholders at the United Nations Population Fund’s World Population Day 2015 Forum, held under the theme “Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies” at the Cara Lodge Hotel in Georgetown.
At the forum, major issues affecting women and girls, such as teenage pregnancy, rape, health and safety in times of disaster and everyday life were spotlighted, as stakeholders were invited to give suggestions on how best policies can be crafted to target and curb these occurrences.
In brief remarks, the First Lady said that while women and girls were susceptible in such situations, the elderly must not be placed on the back burner, since they too have needs and are often even more vulnerable.
“We have seen what the issues at stake in Guyana are… I think when we look at dealing with the vulnerable populations, we have to be careful to include all of our vulnerable sectors and I would like to include our senior citizens who will possibly have some greater and different health issues to deal with at this time,” the First Lady said.
Also participating in the forum, Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence told participants that the event was timely. She said that it will reinforce and remind all that there should be a refocusing of attention on gender issues to tackle the problems that beset girls and women, and there should be a redoubling of efforts in guaranteeing their safety and well-being, especially in times of a crisis.
“During emergencies and natural disasters, they face the greatest risk of abuse, violence and sexual exploitation. In the aftermath too, they are the ones who have to struggle to overcome obstacles to cater for the needs of their children, the injured, their elderly parents and relatives,” the Minister of Social Protection said.
Minister Lawrence related that during situations of disasters, there are several special needs for women which cannot be overlooked. Meeting these needs, the Minister said, has to be a collective effort.
“…these are humanitarian issues that we should address and we must address as a nation, for which we have to find solutions if we are to fulfill the mandate to safeguard the dignity, the health, the safety and the well-being of  the women, girls and seniors, the vulnerable groups…our response needs to be aggressive. We need to build strategic approaches to effectively combat the stranglehold that our women and girls are caught in…,” the Minister said.
Assistant Representative of the United Nations Population Fund, Patrice La Fleur, in her remarks, said that the forum comes at a time when Guyana has just experienced a major flood, which had led to the activation of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) by President David Granger last week.
Ms. La Fleur shared that it is at this time that women are taken advantage of and abused due to their displacement and vulnerable situation. “We need to preserve the dignity, safety and reproductive health of all women and girls at all times,” she said.
The UNFPA representative said that her agency has been working closely with Guyana, particularly with the CDC, in providing training and exercises to respond to the needs of the population during the times of disasters.
During the forum, participants had the opportunity to discuss the unique challenges facing women during times of emergency and provided suggestions for resolving those challenges in Guyana.
Some of these included extensive training and education, follow-up and rejuvenation of policies and programmes already implemented enactment and enforcement of legislation to target perpetrators of sexual and other forms of violence and abuse, and the need for resources in various agencies overseeing and leading work in these areas.

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