The Caribbean Vulnerable Com-munities Coalition (CVC) is concerned that Caricom is seeking to operationalise a definition of ‘vulnerable populations’ which excludes men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, at-risk youth and prison populations.
Caricom is seeking to use the definition in the Non-State Actor (NSA) component of the CARIFORUM 10th European Development Fund (EDF), the CVC said.
Speaking at a media engagement on the matter held at the Moray House Trust on Friday afternoon, Dr. John Waters, Co-Chair of CVC said there is a need to look at ways of protecting groups that have always been at the fringes and which have always been discriminated against. He said the body also intends to write the European Union expressing the concerns.
In a letter to Secretary General of Caricom Irwin LaRocque, the body explained that such a definition would exclude such persons from projects funded under the 10th EDF.
“From the reports emanating from the recently concluded consultations on the Non-State Actor (NSA) component of the 10th EDF, support to CARIFORUM seems to be an issue among the technocrats of the CARICOM Secretariat over what populations will be included within the frame of vulnerable populations,” the body said.
“There is no clear definition of what vulnerability is in reference to the Cotonou agreement. The definition is left vague as to allow regions to set their own definition. In order to place the concept of vulnerability in the context of the Caribbean we need to see how documents approved by the Heads of Government have used the term. This will guide the technocrats in the Caricom Secretariat in their implementation of the NSA component of the 10EDF,” the letter to LaRocque said. The CVC said that while it was argued by the technocrats of the Caricom Secretariat that in the context of the Cotonou agreement, [the term vulnerability or vulnerable populations] does not speak to the populations of men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, youth on the block, incarcerated populations as they are only used in HIV programming,” the letter said. “One can only wonder if prejudice and discrimination is the source of the resistance in including the populations long considered vulnerable populations, from inclusion in the project,” the letter stated.
“It would appear that it would be disingenuous to have one definition of vulnerable population when it suits the Community in their negotiations with the Global Fund and then to allow technocrats to exclude those same populations …because of their personal prejudices and phobias,” the letter said. CVC wants specific, named inclusion of MSM/LBGT, Sex Workers, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), migrant populations, people who use drugs (PWUD) and people incarcerated as ‘vulnerable’ and as populations to be reached with capacity building activities under the NSA component of the CARIFORUM 10th EDF.
“Further there needs to be clarification of how much of the 4.5 million euros will be allocated toward capacity building of MSM/LBGT, Sex Workers, OVC, people who use drugs and people incarcerated and the organisations that represent them,” CVC said.
