Roadtown, Tortola - Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the media: The Governments of the Eastern Caribbean including the BVI in collaboration with UNICEF has developed a multi-country programme with an overall goal of realizing children’s rights, by fostering an enabling and protective environment, reducing children’s vulnerability to social risks and enhancing their participation in matters that affect them directly or indirectly.

 This particular programme will run from 2008 to 2011. The programme has four elements:
1. Social Policy, Advocacy for children’s Rights
2. Child Protection
3. HIV Prevention and Life Skills
4. Early Childhood Development

It will, among other things, contribute to key results areas such as child-friendly and gender-sensitive legislation and policies; enhanced protective environment for children in families, communities, schools and institutions reducing their exposure to all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation; children’s development readiness to start primary school enhanced; and reduction in the risk and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Each year governments identify key activities, which if implemented, will lead to the above mentioned results by 2011.

In 2008, the BVI received support in the areas of Child Protection, specifically:

• Training for journalists on child abuse reporting; conducting a technical seminar that reviewed a draft protocol on    Child Abuse Management and Reporting
• Consultation on HIV Prevention and Life Skills
• Meetings were held with the Ministry of Education & Culture to discuss how the delivery of Health and Family Life Education could be strengthened in schools
• Persons from the BVI also participated in sub-regional initiatives and meetings.

By signing this Annual Work Plan, the Government of the BVI and UNICEF are agreeing that in 2009, UNICEF will provide training, and technical and financial support primarily in the areas of Child Protection and HIV Prevention and Life Skills.

Child Protection

They will support processes towards the finalization of the draft protocol on Child Abuse Management and Reporting; an Assessment of the Adoption Process in the BVI; and Child Abuse Prevention Month activities.

HIV Prevention and Life Skills

UNICEF will continue to support BVI's efforts to strengthen the delivery of health and family life education in schools where emphasis will be on strengthening the teaching of the sexuality component of the Health and Family Life Programme, and the self and interpersonal component, as well as helping to develop HFLE policies.

In addition, persons from the BVI will continue to benefit from sub-regional training for the media on reporting on social policy issues and other activities relating to children’s rights.

Thank you.