Beginnings Issue 8.pub - Planning Institute of Jamaica

September 2006 

Issue 8 

Inside this issue: 

Sustainable Development 

and the Poverty- 

Environment Nexus 

Off the Bookshelf 6 

Measuring Gender Equality 

and Women's 

Empowerment 

Weblinks: Child 

Mortality 

PIOJ—Sustainable Development & Regional Planning Division 

Planning Institute 

of Jamaica 

MDG Watch 10 

In Focus 11 

Did You Know? 12 

Beginnings 

1 

7 

9 

Beginnings 

Parent and Child 

Sustainable Development and the Poverty-Environment Nexus: 

A Strategic Approach for Determining Areas for Special Development in 

Jamaica. 

Above: Scenes from the Upper Rio Grande Valley 

Background 

Poverty is one the most pressing 

problems affecting Jamaica. The 2005 

Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions 

indicates that 14.8 per cent of the 

population lives below the poverty line. 

This figure has decreased from 35.2 per 

cent in 1992. Despite the significant 

decline, the incidence of poverty remains a 

problem for the country and is more acute 

in rural areas with 21 per cent (2005) of 

Allison Richards & Camille Dwyer 

the population living below the poverty line. 

The areas with high levels of poverty are 

generally characterized by high unemployment; 

poor health conditions, low educational 

achievements, and limited access to 

infrastructure and basic services. 

While the incidence of poverty is widespread 

across Jamaica, the eastern parishes of St. Mary, 

St. Thomas and Portland are of particular 

concern having consistently recorded high levels 

(Continued on page 3)

P a ge 2 B eginnings I s s u e 8 

Editorial 

The Christmas season 

has come and gone and its hard to 

believe that we are already in the 

second month of 2007. As we breath 

a sigh of relief after a relatively 

uneventful hurricane season last year 

we should not get complacent as it 

regards our preparation for such 

events. I n light of this, 

Beginnings continues to focus on 

risk assessment and vulnerability. 

In addition to our coverage of the 

Millennium Development Goals, this 

issue focuses on the impact of poverty 

on the environment and the need to 

identify specific areas in Jamaica with 

high poverty rates and susceptibility to 

environmental hazards. 

We wrap up our focus on MDG 3 

with Part 2 of the article “Measuring 

Gender Equality and Women’s 

Empowerment” . We also feature 

MDG 4 - Reduce Child Mortality 

WE NEED TO HEAR FROM 

YOU!! 

The Beginnings team would like 

to get your valuable feedback and 

response in order to provide 

relevant information and links 

about issues important to YOU! 

Send us your input on sustainable development related 

websites, events, projects, articles, workshops etc. and we will 

gladly include them in our publication. 

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and 

colleagues who may find the information useful. Past issues 

of Beginnings are posted on the official website of the PIOJ 

at: http://www.pioj.gov.jm 

in MDG Watch. This MDG requires a 

reduction in child mortality to 9/1000 

births by 2015. 

Jamaica is “lagging” with respect to 

this goal and much will have to be 

done to change this. Our “Did You 

Know?” feature outlines the major 

causes of death in infants in Jamaica 

and the various government initiatives 

geared towards reducing child 

mortality. 

In Focus presents Part 2 of our 

account of the Central Information 

Technology Office (CITO) Regional 

Summit, Part 1 of which was featured 

in our last issue. 

As always, this issue would not have 

b e e n p o s s i b l e w i t hout t h e 

contribution of our writers. 

Beginnings extends thanks to 

Mrs. Allison Richards and Kamille 

Dwyer of the PIOJ and the University 

of the West Indies respectively for 

their contributions. 

The Editorial Team of Beginnings 

would like to thank all its readers, 

contributors and supporters who have 

encouraged us with their comments and 

feedback over the past year. We wish 

you a prosperous, productive and 

sustainable New Year. 

Nadine Jones 

PLANNING INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA 

MISSION STATEMENT 

Editor/Desktop Publisher 

Beginnings Editorial Team 

credits 

The Planning Institute of Jamaica is committed to 

leading the process of policy formulation on economic 

and social issues and external cooperation management to 

achieve sustainable development for the people of 

JAMAICA. 

Toni-Shae Freckleton 

Allison Richards 

Marcia Blake-Hall 

On the cover: Parents and children from around the world. 

On the back: Sunset in the Rio Grande Valley 

Beginnings is a quarterly newsletter of the Sustainable Development & Regional Planning Division, Planning Institute of Jamaica. The opinions expressed by 

our contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Beginnings. Please send comments to: The Editor, Beginnings, 10-16 

Grenada Way, Kingston 6. Tel: (876) 906-4463-4 Fax (876) 906-4465 Email: njones@pioj.gov.jm

P a g e 3 B eginnings I s s u e 8 

Sustainable Development and the Poverty–Environment Nexus... 

of poverty. In 1992, an average 40.9 per cent of the population of 

these parishes lived below the poverty line. The parish of 

Portland had the highest incidence of poverty with 50 per cent of 

its population living below the poverty line at that time. 

The parish of Clarendon has also recorded poverty levels above 

the national average. The incidence of poverty was 42.2 in 1992. 

There was a significant decline in 1998 to 13.3; however, the rate 

increased to 27.2 in 2002. The negative effects of poverty on 

these parishes have been exacerbated by their high vulnerability 

to natural and man-made hazards. 

Some progress has been made in addressing the poverty 

situation through the National Poverty Eradication Programme 

(NPEP) which (started in 1995) emphasizes strategies of human 

resource development and employment generation; community 

empowerment; geographic targeting; safety net and income 

transfers. This is exemplified by the fact that the poverty level of 

the country and the northeastern region has significantly declined 

with 19.2 and 28.9 percent of the population living below the 

poverty line Jamaica and the northeastern parishes, respectively, 

in 2002. Further progress in addressing the poverty situation in 

the country is being hampered by insufficient resources to 

effectively address the poverty situation. 

“Areas for special development” are 

considered to be regions or locales with 

pressing social, economic and environmental 

problems, affecting both human livelihoods and 

environmental resources, and ultimately the 

attainment of sustainable development. “ 

The parish of Portland continued to record the highest level in 

the region with 32.3 percent of the population living below the 

poverty line in 2002. The Rio Grande Valley in the Parish of 

Portland is of particular concern as the valley covers 

approximately one-third of the parish (286 000 hectares), and its 

residents are heavily dependent on the natural environment for 

their basic needs. The Rio Grande Valley is an agricultural area 

with a combination of physical conditions (temperature, rainfall, 

and soil type) that gives rise to high agricultural productivity 

(Thomas-Hope and Spence 1999). Agricultural produce in the 

Valley is principally a variety of fruit and cash crops, including 

banana, coffee and a wide range of ground products. The area is 

prone to flooding and landslides due to a combination of its 

geology, topography, and climatic conditions. Additionally, past 

and current farming practices have reportedly exacerbated the 

vulnerability of the area to these hazards. The situation has been 

further compounded by the impact of floods and hurricane over 

the past 5 years. 

Another area of concern is the Portland Cottage Community 

of Clarendon. Portland Cottage is a small low-lying coastal 

community (1.51 square km) with fishing as its main economic 

activity. Portland Cottage sustained some of the most intense 

winds from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and storm surges up to at 

least 8 feet. There was significant flooding, which resulted in 

loss of property and the permanent relocation of many of the 

residents to higher ground in the community. 

Given the situation, there is an urgent need to prioritize 

geographic interventions across the country. This necessitates 

the development of an objective basis for determining priority 

areas (areas for special development) for intervention. “Areas 

for special development” are considered to be regions or 

locales with pressing social, economic and environmental 

problems, affecting both human livelihoods and 

environmental resources, and ultimately the attainment of 

sustainable development. The Rio Grande Valley in the parish 

of Portland and Portland Cottage in the parish of Clarendon 

are of particular concern because of the high incidence of 

poverty in the communities, and their susceptibility to 

environmental disasters (See Map of Study Area on Page 4) 

. 

The Planning Institute of Jamaica has embarked on a study to 

develop a set of criteria for determining “Areas for Special 

Development” in Jamaica. 

Aims of the study 

1. To determine the relationship between poverty and 

environmental vulnerability 

2. To determine the social, economic and environmental 

implications of environmental vulnerability on human 

livelihoods in rural areas of Jamaica. 

3. To determine, and provide information on specific areas 

in Jamaica with high poverty rates and greater 

susceptibility to environmental hazards. 

Objectives of the Study 

1. To develop criteria for determining areas for special 

development in Jamaica. 

2. To use the criteria developed, to identify special 

development areas in the Rio Grande Valley of Portland. 



Sustainable Development and the Poverty-Environment Nexus...


Sustainable Development and the Poverty–Environment Nexus... 

(Continued from page 3) 

Methodology 

Central to the research’s success is the availability of historical 

and current, and reliable information on poverty and 

environmental vulnerability in Jamaica. Having identified the 

aims and objectives, it is imperative that a well suited 

methodological approach is used to achieve the overall intent 

of the research. The proposed methodology for the study 

includes the use of both primary and secondary data. Primary 

data will be in the form of interviews that to be conducted in 

the Rio Grande Valley on and in Portland Cottage. A total of 

80 participants will be targeted. 

The methodological approach represents a two-tier system; 

providing abundant and accurate data for purposes of 

comparison; identification of past and current trends and; indepth 

analysis of the variables contributing to poverty and 

environmental vulnerability. The approach is as follows: 

Primary Data Sources 

The use of a standardized Open-ended Interview* will be 

employed as the principal means of acquiring primary data in 

the field of research. This method provides a more ‘relaxed’ 

environment for the ‘free-flow’ of information between the 

interviewer and interviewee, as there are no predetermined 

answers (yes or no). Data collection via the interview method 

will be represented in both written and graphical form. 

Secondary Data Sources 

Documentation review is the approach being used to acquire 

secondary data. The Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions 

(JSLC), and the Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica 

(ESSJ), published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the 

Statistical Institute of Jamaica, are the main documents to be 

consulted, as it relates to the social and economic dimensions 

of poverty in Jamaica. The JSLC and the ESSJ are (expected) 

to provide historical and comprehensive information on the 

social and economic characteristics of poverty. Maps, tables, 

charts, and other graphic representations published in the 

JSLC, the ESSJ and other documented data sources, are to be 

used for purposes of identifying poverty trends and patterns in 

Jamaica. The Social Development Commission Office in 

Portland will also serve as an information medium, through 

the provision of detailed socio-economic information on 

communities in the Rio Grande Valley (study area). 

Information on the relationship between poverty and 

environmental vulnerability will be reviewed using publications 

of The World Bank, and the United Nations. Information 

specific to Jamaica will be sourced at the National 

Environmental Planning Agency, Ministry of Agriculture and 

Land, the Department of Geography and Geology, University 

of the West Indies, Mona and the Forestry Department. Maps, 

charts and other graphic data will also be source at the above 

Institutions. 

It should be noted that urban areas will not be included in this 

study. 

Findings to be presented in next issue. 

WEBLINKS: 

Child Mortality Issues 

• UNICEF Millennium Development Goals 

http://www.unicef.org/mdg/childmortality.html 

• Millennium Campaign 

Mrs. Allison Richards is the Urban and 

Regional Planner in the Sustainable 

Development and Regional Planning 

Division at the PIOJ. 

Ms. Kamille Dwyer is a graduate student 

at the University of the West Indies (St. 

Augustine Campus). She is pursuing a 

Masters in Geography. 

http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/site/pp.asp?c=grKVL2NLE 

&b=186384 

• Department for International Development Fact sheet— 

Child Mortality 

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/mdgfactsheets/childmortalityfactsheet.pdf 

• Demographic and Health Surveys 

http://www.measuredhs.com/topics/infant_child_mortality.cfm


Off the Bookshelf 

Healthy Women and Children 

■ Who's Got the Power? Transforming 

Health Systems for Women and Children 

This report puts forward that meaningful, 

sustainable progress toward decreasing child 

and maternal mortality requires an intense 

focus on improving health systems. Who’s 

Got the Power responds to the challenges 

posed by high rates of maternal mortality, 

continued child deaths due to preventable 

illnesses, enormous unmet need for sexual and 

reproductive health services, and weak and 

fragile health systems. 

In addition to identifying the technical 

interventions to address these problems, the 

report proposes bold and concrete steps that 

governments and international agencies can 

take to ensure that health sector interventions 

have significant effects on all aspects of 

development and poverty reduction. 

Who's Got the Power? Transforming Health 

Systems for Women and Children 

Author: UN Millennium Project/United Nations 

Development Programme 

http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/document 

s/maternalchild-frontmatter.pdf 

Excluded and Invisible 

■ State of the World's Children 2006, 

The: Excluded and Invisible 

The State of the World’s Children 

focuses on the millions of children who 

have not been the beneficiaries of past 

gains, the ones who are excluded or 

‘invisible’. The report assesses global 

efforts to realize the MDGs, the central 

development targets of the agenda, and 

demonstrates the marked impact that 

their achievement would have on 

children’s lives and future generations. 

It argues that reaching the MDGs should 

benefit not only the better off, but also 

those children who are most in need, 

whose rights are most abused and undervalued and who are currently excluded 

from services, marginalized and unprotected by society and the state. 

State of the World's Children 2006, The: Excluded and Invisible 

Author: United Nations International Children's 

Fundhttp://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2006_English_Report_rev( 

1).pdf 

For the Children 

■ We the Children—Meeting the 

promises of the World Summit for 

Children 

This report demonstrates with facts and 

figures how the 1990 World Summit for 

Children was systematically followed up and 

rigorously monitored, resulting in 

i m p r e s s i v e a c h i e v e m e n t s . 

Part one reviews the commitments made to 

children in 1990 at the World Summit for 

Children. Part two summarizes the progress 

made in implementing the World Summit in 

three main areas: health, nutrition, water and sanitation; education and literacy; 

children's protection and civil rights. Part three, the final section, offers 

perspectives for the future by looking at lessons learned from the past decade. 

We the Children—Meeting the promises of the World Summit for Children 

Author: Kofi A. Anan, Secretary-General of the United Nations 

http://www.unicef.org/specialsession/about/sgreportpdf/sgreport_adapted_eng.pdf


MDG 3: 

Measuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (Part 2) 

In our last issue we began to explore the target and 

indicators under MDG number 3 and Jamaica’s progress 

towards meeting the goal. In Part two the author seeks to 

analyze the targets and indicators 

Analyzing the targets and the indicators 

Goal Number 3 of the MDGs seeks to promote gender 

equality and to empower women. In this regard the target 

identified the elimination of ‘gender disparity in primary, 

secondary education preferably by 2005, and in all levels of 

education no later than 2015’. 

In analyzing the target and indicators one has to examine the 

extent to which the MDG targets for Goal No. 3 facilitate 

equality and empowerment. An overview of gender and 

education trends, allows us to look at the ways in which 

gender inequality is perpetuated and empowerment is 

impeded. The target statement, which speaks primarily to 

capabilities through educational attainment, gives an 

underlying assumption that education can be used as a vehicle 

for gender equality and women’s empowerment. At the same 

time, this is not necessarily a good indication of Caribbean 

reality. On this note, Barbara Bailey ( )makes the point that: 

education has not proven to be the vehicle for Caribbean 

women’s economic, political or personal empowerment. In 

By Taitu Heron 

spite of their overall higher levels of participation and performance 

at the secondary and tertiary levels of Caribbean education systems, 

the majority of the women in the region continue to be positioned 

in the lowest sectors of the capital market, earn lower wages than 

men, suffer higher rates of unemployment, experience greater levels 

of poverty, are under-represented in decision-making positions at the 

meso and macro levels of social and political institutions and lack 

real personal autonomy. (p.136) 

Grown et al (2003) argue that the ratio of boys to girls in 

school only reflects the input side of education and not the 

output side, which is more relevant – completion and learning 

outcomes. Bailey (2003) contends that the focus on the 

quantitative gains that Jamaican women have made in 

education masks and undermines the qualitative dimensions, 

...the focus on the quantitative gains that 

Jamaican women have made in education 

masks and undermines the qualitative 

dimensions, that beyond school, females have 

less of a competitive advantage than their male 

counterparts. 

that beyond school, females have less of a competitive 

advantage than their male counterparts. Higher rates of 

performance and attainment by females do not necessarily 

translate into increased labour participation, or increased 

involvement in decision-making processes. 

A study done by Odette Parry (2001) on students in Kingston 

high schools provides evidence that traditional socialisation 

patterns such as suggesting subjects such as English Language, 

Literature and History are ‘girl subjects’ and subjects such as 

mathematics, physics, chemistry etc, are ‘boy subjects’ adds to 

the handicapping conditions that contribute to higher male 

dropout rates, particularly when the subject of English, the 

basis of participating in all OTHER subjects, is increasingly 

perceived as "female". In 2002/2003 the English language pass 

rate for secondary high schools stood at 71% for females and 

55% for males. The national average was 51% for females and 



“Measuring Gender Equality…” 

(Continued from page 7) 

38% for males. Since the mastery of the English Language 

forms the basis for achievement in many other subjects 

(and University matriculation), this is a worrisome trend. 

It is fairly well researched [Chevannes (1999, 2001), and 

Parry (1996)] that the early socializing patterns of “male 

privilege” (meaning being raised with greater freedom and 

less supervision, fewer home responsibilities) along with 

the opposite conditions for females, contribute to 

perceived patterns of greater compliance by girls with 

school expectations (following orders, routines, 

completing work), and thus produce better academic 

results for the females, and lower academic results and a 

weaker sense of social responsibility for the males. 

Some writers on gender and education (eg. Bailey, 

Ricketts, Evans, Parry, Chevannes) express concern for 

the under-participation and under-achievement of boys in 

the education system. Gender socialization as pointed out 

earlier, along with the treatment of boys by teachers, and 

the culture of portraying boys as soft or nerdish when 

they perform well in school, are some of the reasons that 

have been given. The cultural environment in which 

unequal gender relations persist often create a backlash on 

both females and males. This is so, to the point where the 

understandable preoccupation of male underperformance 

and under achievement in the education system, often 

nullifies the challenges that females continue to face. 

Concentrating on the share of female labour participation 

in the non-agricultural sector is useful. However other 

related issues that could be considered - such as, 

occupational sex-segregation, wage differentials, decent 

work conditions, unemployment and work in a largely 

unregulated informal sector – are not. Therefore, in spite 

of relatively high levels of educational attainment and the 

improved quality of female employment as professionals, 

senior officials and managers, gender inequality persists 

with lower female labour participation, and high-level 

employment in low end occupations and concentration in 

traditional “female” occupational groups. An ECLAC 

Report (2001) points out that: 

[a] closer examination of the patterns of female achievement 

within the education system suggests strongly that the 

pattern of segregation evident in subject selection has 

had the effect of maintaining the unequal and inequitable 

division of labour in the home and in the workplace (p. 5). 

In Jamaica, Labour force statistics indicate that 68.2% of the female 

employed labour force are clustered in categories which for the most 

part attract a minimum wage (clerks, service workers, shop and 

market sales and elementary occupations). On the other hand, 

although the number of women in the ‘Professionals, Senior 

Officials and Technicians’, the highest occupational group, has been 

steadily increasing and in 2001 represented 21.64% of all employed 

women, this grouping includes teachers and nurses; occupations 

which although not lower-skilled are under-valued in terms of social 

status and, therefore, are accorded low levels of remuneration 

compared with other professions in this grouping. Data also indicate 

that within this category there is status stratification with women 

over-represented in the lower strata and markedly absent from 

decision-making positions (Ricketts & Benfield 2000). 

In relation to using the proportion of seats in national parliaments as 

an indicator of agency, Grown et al (2003) argue that this not a 

sufficient measurement for tracking levels of female empowerment. 

They posit that this indicator says nothing about whether women 

have power to make decisions or whether or not such women are 

sensitive to gender issues and can promote a gender equality 

legislative agenda. They note that it might be more useful to track 

progress that women make at the local level because it is at the 

municipal and local level rather than in national elections that women 

have been making inroads. 

The indicators identified in relation to Goal 3 for measuring 

progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment 

represent all three domains (capabilities, opportunities and agency) 

but, as Grown, Gupta and Khan (2003) point out, progress in any 

one domain to the exclusion of others is insufficient to meet the goal 

of gender equality. They point to the fact that, as is the case in the 

Caribbean: 

(E)ven though education provides women with an essential capability 

and has intrinsic value, gender equality and the empowerment of 

women can remain elusive goals without the opportunity to fully use 

that capability, for example, in employment, or by participating in 

decision making in the political arena. (p. 7) 

Forty indicators are used as part of the UN Development Assistance 

Framework (UNDAF) to guide common country assessments in 

countries such as Jamaica, in which UN development cooperation 

takes place. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are also 



“Measuring Gender Equality…” 

included in the UNDAF indicators. UNIFEM’s report on the 

Progress of the World’s Women in 2000 cautions the duplication 

of these UNDAF indicators and argued that these are best 

understood as a measure of an enabling environment in which 

obstacles to gender equality and women’s empowerment are 

diminishing. This report further stated that the indicators do not 

measure “the subjective dimensions of women’s empowerment” 

(p. 10). 

These indicators are not the most suitable for determining 

progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

Stakeholders with interest in MDG3 can rest assured that all this 

does not mean a policy straightjacket, and allows for flexibility. 

In this light, the Regional Consultation on the MDGs and 

Sustainable Development, held in Barbados, 2003, pointed out: 

It is possible to critique the goals, targets and indicators on 

many grounds and hence the necessity to customize and 

contextualize them to make them more relevant to the level 

of achievement and the aspirations of the Caribbean…the 

framework can be enhanced by the addition of more 

qualitative and relevant quantitative measures. 

Grown et al (2003) suggest that the identified indicators have 

limitations and suggest the following supplementary indicators in 

relation to each of the equality domains: 

• Completion rates in additional to enrolment rates for 

all levels of education; 

• Gender gaps in earnings in paid and self-employment, 

sex-disaggregated unemployment rates and 

occupational segregation; and, 

• Prevalence of gender-based violence in addition to 

share of seats in national parliaments. 

There is need to include gender-based violence as threats to 

women’s personal security. Violence and conflict reflect in 

physical and psychological harm and lessen the ability of 

individuals, households and communities to fulfill their 

potential. Violence against women in particular is a major barrier 

to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment – 

women who are victims are less productive on the job, thereby 

decreasing the national output. Violence against women 

increases vulnerability to unwanted pregnancies, STIs, HIV and 

by restricting ability to negotiate protection or leave unhealthy 

relationships. In short, it is disempowering. 

Gender equality is multidimensional and multi-sectoral. As 

such one of the goals for improving the MDG targets would 

be to recognize the asymmetries of power in relation to 

gender inequality and disempowerment. Other goals, 

specifically, 1, 4 and 6 are equally important indicators of 

gender equality and also need to be revisited. Additional 

targets need to be conceptualized to consider attainment in (i) 

advances in sexual and reproductive rights and (ii) the 

elimination of gender-based violence. The Millenium Project 

Task Force has subsequently adopted the capabilities, 

opportunities and agency approach, the targets and indicators 

should therefore reflect this. 

The fact that the policy framework is ever changing is a 

positive sign. The inclusion of additional targets, namely the 

elimination of gender-based violence and the achievement of 

sexual and reproductive rights, in the UN Secretary General’s 

Report (In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and 

Human Rights for All) as specific indicators of development 

and identified targets of achievement, is a welcoming note to 

demonstrate the GOJ’s further commitment to gender 

equality and women’s empowerment. This would only be 

building upon earlier commitments expressed with GOJ’s 

ratification of other gender-related international instruments, 

namely Convention on the Elmination of Discrimination 

Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Plan of Action. 

Taitu A. Heron is Manager of the 

Social Development & Gender Unit 

in the Social Policy Planning and 

Research Division, 

THE PLANNING INSTITUTE OF 

JAMAICA


Sustainable Development Events 

MARCH 2007 

Financing Of Forest Conservation: Payments For 

Environmental Services In The Tropics 

Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, New Haven, 

United States of America 

Mar 2, 2007 to Mar 3, 2007 

Fifth Session Of The Committee For The Review Of The 

Un Convention To Combat Desertification 

Buenos Aires, Argentina 

Mar 12, 2007 to Mar 21, 2007 

International Conference on Water and Flood 

Management 

Dhaka, Bangladesh 

Mar 12, 2007 to Mar 14, 2007 

World Day for Water 2007 

Around the world., 

Mar 22, 2007 to Mar 22, 2007 

MDG Watch 

APRIL 2007 

For details on these and other conferences visit: http://www.sdgateway.net/events/ 

Seventh Session Of Un Forum On Forests 

New York, NY, United States of America 

Apr 16, 2007 to Apr 27, 2007 

Twenty-First Session of the UN-HABITAT Governing Council 

Nairobi, Kenya 

Apr 16, 2007 to Apr 20, 2007 

International Conference on Climatic Changes and their 

Impacts on Coastal Zones and River Deltas: Vulnerability, 

Mitigation and Adaptation 

Alexandria, Egypt 

Apr 21, 2007 to Apr 25, 2007 

Fifteenth Session Of The Un Commission On Sustainable 

Development 

New York, New York, United States of America 

Apr 30, 2007 to May 11, 2007


Part II 

Background 

In our last issue In Focus excerpts of the proceedings of the 

Central Information Technology Office (CITO) 

Regional Summit to promote disaster preparedness through 

the use of Information and Communications Technology 

(ICT) were presented. The three-day Summit focused on 

utilizing ICT to engender Business Continuity 

Management (BCM) in light of the growing frequency of 

natural disasters. The last issue looked at the issues of Event 

Management and the Chief Risk Officer, Business Continuity 

Plan and the Role of Business Impact Analysis. This quarter, 

we conclude our two part story by looking at Local and 

Wide Area Networks and Lessons Learned from 

Regional Disasters 

Local & Campus Communications: LAN/WAN/Voice 

The importance of ensuring continuity in the operation of 

Local Area and Wide Area Networks(LAN/WAN) was also 

highlighted at the summitt. A local area network (LAN) is a 

computer network covering a local area, like a home, office, 

or group of buildings. On the other hand a wide area 

network or WAN is a computer network covering a broad 

geographical area. The largest and most well-known example 

of a WAN is the Internet. WANs are used to connect local 

area networks (LANs) together, so that users and computers 

in one location can communicate with users and computers in 

other locations. 

The following factors, among others, were highlighted as 

being of importance to maintenance of a LAN or WAN in 

the event of a disaster: 

• Power - The availability of power, reliable backup power 

source is essential for faster recovery 

• Hardware – equipment should be insured, vendors who 

can quickly replace equipment should be identified. A 

Contingency Operations Center should be established. 

• Security – ensure that network rooms are made with 

concrete roofs, with no windows and a reliable cooling 

system 

In Focus 

Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Utilizing Information and Communication Technology 

An Account of the Proceedings of the Central Information Technology Office (CITO) Regional Summit, May 2005 

• Wiring – Ensure that building is wired with smoke 

alarm systems. A label maker is essential for the labelling of 

cables. A wiring diagram must be kept onsite (preferably 

on the wall) as well as offsite. Keep an extra roll of the 

most used cabling and keep cables off the floor. Where 

telephone lines are concerned, know where lines aggregate 

and which lines are yours where the service is shared. 

Recovery – Ensure that there are regular network, voice 

and data back-ups 

Lessons Learned from Regional Disasters 

This presentation focused on key areas to consider when 

creating or updating business continuity plans with 

reference to Hurricane Katrina and other major disasters. 

Like other presentations, this also highlighted the 

importance of ensuring staff welfare and safety in the event 

of a natural disaster. Among the focus areas were: 

• People – employees must be considered prior to, 

during, and after an event 

• Communication – the most reliable mode of 

communication in a disaster must be determined be it 

cell phones, email, home phones, cordless phones, 

satellite phones 

• 

• Data Availability – utilize electronic media , store 

backup data in multiple locations 

• Plan Currency - crisis management plan must be kept 

current. The plans should also be integrated with IT 

and business. The plan should be tested annually. 

• Insurance – understand risks, inventorize your assets 

The conference was useful as it drew attention to the 

importance of planning for a natural and man made 

disasters in the context of information technology in the 

business. It was also encouraging to see that local IT 

businesses and young entrepreneurs attach a great level of 

importance to the disaster management element of their 

business function.


DID DID DID DID YOU YOU YOU YOU KNOW? KNOW? KNOW? KNOW? 

The MDG require a reduction in child mortality to 

9/1000 births by 2015. Jamaica is “lagging” with respect 

to this goal. Under five years, mortality was 28.5/1000 

births in 1993 and 21.4/1000 in 2003. Perinatal mortality 

(estimated at 24/1000) and Infant Mortality (estimated at 

19/1000) are the main contributors to the under 5 

mortality. 

The leading causes of infant deaths are: 

• Conditions relating to the perinatal period (Birth – 6 

weeks) 

• Congenital malformations, deformations and 

chromosomal abnormalities 

• HIV/AIDS 

• Nutritional Deficiencies 

The leading causes of death in children 1 to 4 years 

include: 

• Conditions relating to the perinatal period 

• HIV/AIDS 

• Acute respiratory infections 

• Accidents and unintentional injuries 

Some of the achievements to date with respect of this 

MDG goals include: 

Infrastructure 

• The offering of child heath care services at over 300 

public health centres island wide 

• NHF approved project for the provision of 

equipment for the diagnosis and management of 

asthma 

• Upgrading of some parish hospitals to provide accessible 

paediatric services 

Policy and Standards 

• Standardisation of the protocol for the management of 

asthma 


rheumatic fever 


acute gastroenteritis 

• Development of a field guide for the care of the newborn 

• Legislative support- Immunization regulations and Child 

Care and Protection Act 

• Regional review of perinatal deaths to inform the 

management of future cases 

• Development of a National Framework of Action for 

children based on the world fit for children goals 

• Development of a National Plan of Action for an 

integrated response to children and violence 

Treatment and care 

• Provisions of vaccines free of charge in public health 

facilities as well as the provision of two new vaccines on 

the immunization schedule (Hepatitis b and Haemophilus 

Influenza b) 

• Programme for the prevention of mother to child 

transmission of HIV 

• Programme for antenatal screening and the management 

of anemia, syphilis and HIV 

• Screening of newborn for sickle cell disease 

Establishment of a programme for treatment and 

rehabilitation of children who have been sexually and 

physically abused (after school care, referral to Child 

Development Agency)- Camp Bustamante.

Beginnings Issue 8.pub - Planning Institute of Jamaica

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