Roseau, Dominica – July 9, 2010………. Dominica’s Minister for Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs, Hon. Gloria Shillingford is presently in Cali, Columbia attending the 2nd Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities of Social Development of the Member States of the Organisation of American States (OAS).
The theme of the two-day meeting is “Strengthening and providing sustainability to social protection systems”.
Participants will deliberate on ways to improve the management of social protection, inclusion and poverty eradication programmes. There will also be discussion on support for the establishment of the Inter-American Social Protection Network as a mechanism of hemispheric cooperation with the goal of exchanging information on policies, experiences, programmes and best practices in order to strengthen actions to reduce social inequalities, disparities and to halve extreme poverty by the year 2015.
The Meeting will address the human, social and economic impact of recent natural disasters in the region, particularly the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.
Participants will also discuss the negative impact the financial crisis is having on the real economy in relation to employment opportunities and poverty, as well as the challenges this situation creates for national efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, especially with respect to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.
Hon. Gloria Shillingford is expected to return to the state on the weekend.
