Barbados will be the venue for the Caribbean Regional Development Centre of Help Age International (HAI) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) regional meeting slated for October 6 to 10.

The meeting, which has as its theme “Ageing, Social Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction”, will look at the effect of disasters on older people, as well as how social protection policies and programmes can help to meet the needs of the elderly. 

Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Care, Patrick Todd, will deliver the feature address at the opening ceremony on Monday, October 6, beginning at 9:00 a.m., at Barbados Beach Club, Maxwell, Christ Church. 

Ten Caribbean countries will be represented at the meeting. These include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominca, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.

Since 1983, HAI has been working to improve the lives of disadvantaged older people through a global network that spans more than 70 affiliate organisations in 50 countriesIt has a vision of a world in which all older people fulfill their potential to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.  Most of HAI’s activities are carried out in partnership with community-based agencies and non-governmental organisations. It also works closely with academic institutions, local and national governments, and international agencies.

ECLAC, established in 1948, is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations. It was founded for the purpose of contributing to the economic development of Latin America, coordinating actions directed towards this end, and reinforcing economic ties among the countries of the region and between them and other nations of the world. The scope of its work was subsequently extended to include the countries of the Caribbean, with the clear objective of promoting the region’s social development.

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