THE Government of Guyana and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) yesterday signed the annual work plan for 2013, the second year of the current country programme of co-operation for the period 2012-2016.

Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who signed the document on behalf of the Guyana government, outlined some areas in the work plan for which UNICEF would be providing support and noted that the UN body will be working with the ministries in the social sector, especially the Ministries of Health, Human Services and Social Security and Education.
The work plan includes data collection which, she said, is a problem that many developing countries face in terms of having reliable data.
“I’m a strong believer of looking at policies only when you have had the data because data informs policies, and so some of the work that’s going to be done in terms of women and children I think would advise the government in terms of what policies we should put in place, what policies we should amend and what policies we should probably do away with as well,” she explained.
She added that Guyana has been striving to improve its data collection and the continuation of that aspect of the programme will prove helpful.
In addition, the work plan includes a component on educating Members of Parliament (MPs) on child rights. The minister added that MPs should have quite a lot of knowledge to vote for the relevant children’s bills, but  there is always room for more knowledge.
She further observed that the agreement is being signed at the same time that a select committee has been appointed to look at recommendations emanating from the universal periodic review, and  parliament has passed a motion to look at these recommendations in terms of capital punishment, corporal punishment and issues relating to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.
As it relates to corporal punishment, Rodrigues-Birkett stated that the select committee had already decided to engage UNICEF.
“That is something that would be happening very soon and I was very pleased to see that it’s actually here in the work programme,” she remarked.
Additionally, the minister related that UNICEF will also be providing technical assistance to help the government in terms of its reporting responsibilities on the protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
According to her, this is a problem faced by many small countries in the Caribbean when it comes to reporting to international bodies.
“Whereas large countries would have entire departments dedicated to reporting, we are very small countries with limited resources. And Guyana has, actually in the last two/three years, been trying to be updated in terms of our reporting…so we have been submitting a lot of our reports and I am happy that this is also included,” she noted.
She highlighted, for instance, that they would be working with the Education Ministry on projects such as assessing the dormitories in the hinterland. The minister further stated that the government values its relationship with UNICEF and  the organization is seen as one of the most important within the UN system.
“This is why we sought to have Guyana elected in the executive board of UNICEF because we feel that we can make a contribution there as well,” she added.
Two major areas
Meanwhile, UNICEF Representative in Guyana and Suriname, Dr. Suleiman Braimoh signed the document on behalf of the organization.
He noted that UNICEF is basically supporting the government in two major areas. The first has to do with supporting the government to not just be able to understand the situation of women and children in the country, but based on that understanding to be able to draft legislation, policies and strategies to address the challenges that they may find.
Additionally, he said that the second area involves providing support to implement those policies, legislation and strategies to make transformations and changes in the lives of children and women.
According to a UNICEF release, the 2013 work plan outlines priority areas under which work will be undertaken during the year, including specific interventions in the areas of survival, development, protection and participation for the benefit of all children in Guyana.