United Nations Development Programme Jamaica

On October 31, 2011 the world population officially reached 7 billion. Speaking at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launch of the State of the World Population 2011 Report at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital in downtown Kingston, Jamaica, Dr. Arun Kashyap, United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Jamaica, said "The focus should not so much be on the number of people though the number matters, but rather he said " How people consume resources matters a lot more"

Dr. Arun Kashyap, newly arrived United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in presenting his credentials to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, Dr. the Hon. Kenneth Baugh, gave his assurance of the continued commitment of the United Nations Country Team to assist Jamaica to achieve inclusive development.

Dr. Arun Kashyap, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of UNDP, extended good wishes on behalf of UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon to former Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The UNDP-Global Environment Facility, Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) project has launched a poster competition for schools operating in the project areas. Jamaica is one of the participating Countries.

In preparation for the release of the 2012 Caribbean Human Development Report on Citizen Security the final of a series of national consultations has taken place in Kingston, Jamaica.

On September 21, members of staff of the United Nations (UN) Country Team in Jamaica supported the Violence Prevention Alliance in a Race for Peace to commemorate UN International Peace Day.

Over 50 youth from St. Thomas and St. Ann are now able to start a business in beekeeping thanks to the Rural Youth Employment project (RUYE) which has provided 275 bee hives and a first phase of practical training.

The European Commission-United Nations Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) launched a new publication, Handbook: Migration for Development: A bottom-up approach. Jamaica, as one of the participating Countries in this initiative, has been featured with two recently completed projects.

A UNDP-led partnership that rewards communities around the world for their conservation and development solutions launched a call for nominations for the Equator Prize 2012, to be submitted online at www.equatorinitiative.org by October 31, 2011. Jamaica is one of the participating countries.

UNDP in Jamaica is supporting dialogue among government agencies, civil society, the private sector, academia and international development agencies on how to address the low levels of security that the majority of Jamaicans feel, as captured in a new survey on social cohesion and citizen security.