The Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) hosted a four-day training on gender analysis, gender action planning and mainstreaming gender into the project management cycle and the BNTF’s development work for its Community Liaison officers (CLO’s) from nine BNTF participating countries (PC).
The highly interactive and participatory training focused on using gender analytical frameworks and preparing gender action plans to mainstream Gender in BNTF operations, recognising the importance of gender equality for poverty alleviation and sustainable development.
“Through this training we are strengthening the capacity of our team members regionally to fully ensure that the differentiated needs of men, women, boys and girls are addressed and that they benefit equally from our projects,” said George Yearwood, Portfolio Manager of the BNTF.
The BNTF Programme is the main vehicle of the CDB for pursuing direct poverty reduction in the Caribbean. It responds to needs identified by the most vulnerable communities in the priority areas of water and sanitation, education and livelihoods enhancement, and access and drainage to improve the quality of life of beneficiaries in its nine (9) PCs. Climate change and Gender are cross-cutting themes for the programme.
“For BNTF and CDB, gender equality is a very important cross-cutting theme. Every initiative can potentially impact on gender equality and, therefore, we need to avoid maintaining structural gender biases. We must use the opportunities to enhance equality and to transform lives for women and men,” said Martin Baptiste, Division Chief, Projects Department at the CDB.
The participants hail from Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. The workshop was held at the CDB’s headquarters in Barbados.
In the over 40 years since it has been established, the BNTF has implemented over 3000 sub-projects which has directly impacted the lives of more than three million men, women and children.