The new UNICEF representative to Grenada and the Eastern Caribbean Pieter Bult has presented his letters of appointment to Hon. Joseph Andall, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Export Development.
Bult, who is based in Barbados, began his appointment as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative for the Eastern Caribbean in August 2022. He serves 12 Countries; the 8 Eastern Caribbean States as well as Barbados, BVI, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos.
Minister Andall conveyed Grenada’s gratitude for the assistance and support given to schools including the provision of tablets to students during the Covid-19 pandemic. He also conveyed gratitude for the advice and advocacy provided; the inclusion of Children during the Climate Change negotiations. UNICEF influenced, lobbied, and advocated for the inclusion of children and youth as a specific group in major climate change policies, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). As a result, Grenada and St Lucia included children and youth in their revised NDCs.
UNICEF also assisted the Spotlight Initiative which works on alleviating family violence and violence against women and girls. This initiative operates through small grants and with assistance from the European Union.
Grenada was praised by Bult for its high school enrollment rate, and he pledged to focus on the alleviation of children on the brink of poverty and on early childhood intervention where Social Workers can be trained. He said a model would be developed for Grenada based on what already exists in the country. Bult will visit early childhood schools while in Grenada.
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