GUYANA, at a recent meeting in Uruguay, was appointed to the board of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

This was disclosed during a recent interview with Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who represented Guyana at the meeting in Uruguay.
The minister said that this is not a trivial responsibility but represents a huge opportunity for the country.
“It’s a major honour and privilege for Guyana to be serving on the board, not merely to see how much help we can get but a global agenda helps Guyana…and we see how it worked with HIV so it’s a big thing and I am proud that Guyana was elected to serve on the board of the UNFPA,” he stated.
Ramsammy explained that the UNFPA’s focus is on sexual and reproductive health, and is the lead agency to monitor the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
He added that the landmark conference was held in 1994 and Guyana was one of the signatories to the ICPD agreement. He said that there is a meeting every five years and the next meeting is scheduled for 2014.
The minister related that Guyana will now begin its tenure as a member of the board of the UNFPA and that the Director General of UNFPA, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, has expressed commitment towards the strengthening of the Caribbean presence for the UNFPA.

UNFPA Office in Guyana
He pointed out that there is an office of the UNFPA in Guyana which reports to a sub-regional office in Jamaica, and that office reports to a regional office in Panama.
He stated that Osotimehin has agreed that the Caribbean is an important part of UNFPA’s work and is at present working to strengthen the Jamaican office.
According to him, the strengthened Caribbean role is welcome, particularly since the last ICPD mandate has not been fully met.

For instance, Ramsammy said, Guyana is only one of a few countries that has a medical termination of pregnancy law whereby abortion has been legalised, adding that in most countries it is still illegal.
“So access to safe abortions is limited in Latin America and the Caribbean. UNFPA’s role is to make sure that if there is a law in the country, like Guyana and Barbados, that in accordance with that law the country builds a capacity for safe termination,” he said.
He further stated that the UNFPA’s role in countries where there is no such law is to make sure that there are services provided to ensure that women have access to services that will protect them.
Another mandate that has not been fulfilled, he advised, is to ensure that women have the right to delay pregnancy, which he said means that countries can reduce teenage pregnancy.
Teenaged Mothers
Ramsammy pointed out, however, that a quarter of pregnancies in Latin America and the Caribbean are teenaged mothers, and in Guyana teenaged mothers represent approximately 20 percent of all pregnancies.
He stressed that while there are many other objectives set out by the UNFPA, these are examples of the targets that have not been met.
Moreover, he stated that at the 2014 meeting, not only will the progress made since 1994 be evaluated, but a new post-2015 agenda will be set.
As such, the minister said that Guyana’s presence on the board comes at a time when this agenda is being established and therefore Guyana has an important role to play in establishing the post-2015 agenda.
He added that it is a great opportunity to influence the global, regional and national sexual reproductive health agenda.
In addition, he said it is also a good opportunity for the relevant ministries such as Health, Education, Human Services and Culture, Youth and Sport, to ensure that the global resources through the UNFPA are used in such a manner that Guyana benefits directly.