FOLLOWING an intensive two-day joint conference of the 7th Gathering of the Parlamericas Parliamentary Network on Climate Change (PNCC) and the 15th Gathering of the Parlamericas Parliamentary Network for Gender Equality (PNGE), Government Senator, Lisa C. Jawahir was elected, unopposed, as the newest Vice President of Parlamericas Caribbean’s Gender Equality Network.
The conference was held in Mexico City, Mexico from September 28th – 29th and Senator Jawahir represented Saint Lucia on a panel discussing: Parliamentary Exchange on Sustainable and Gender-Sensitive National Efforts to End Food Insecurity and Poverty.
The major focus of her presentation surrounded initiatives and legislation passed by the Government of Saint Lucia to address the intersections between gender and climate resilience and how food security is impacted.
The following points were highlighted:
1. Building the nation’s resilience to climate change especially natural disasters
2. Diversifying the country’s GDP to include strengthening AgriFood Systems and Value-Added processes to meet international market demands
3. Subsidizing of various inputs to lower the cost of food including fertilizer, feed and flour
4. CARICOM’s strategies for the Reduction of the Region’s Food Import Bill by 25% by the year 2025
5. Agriculture as a major pillar of the Youth Economy Agency
6. Support for women and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) involved in innovative technologies in Agri Farming and Food Security
7. Closing the pay gap for women involved in Agri Food systems
8. Support for institutions such as Helen’s Daughters and Raise Your Voice St. Lucia’s Agro Processing plant
9. Applying a gender lens to budget items and overall legislations
10. Job opportunities for young people in aquaponics, agro processing and other technological advancements to improve food security
Senator Jawahir is now the first parliamentarian of the OECS to ever hold this position.