Image: (L-R) PANCAP Director, Mr. Dereck Springer with H.E. Sandra Granger, First Lady of the Republic of Guyana and Vice Chair, SCLAN and Ms. Laura Tucker-Longsworth, OBE,  Speaker of the Belize House of Representatives and PANCAP Champion.

The Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network (SCLAN) in collaboration with the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) hosted a special forum entitled “Pressing forward for the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents” as a side event during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday 24 September 2018. The Forum was designed to increase awareness and to stimulate interest, especially among First Ladies to advocate for the development of programs that will support the safety, physical and psychological well-being of women, children and adolescents around the world.  The event was chaired by Hon. Kim Simplis Barrow, First Lady of Belize and Chair of SCLAN.

It was intended to bring together First Ladies, Spouses of Heads of Government and UN Representatives to facilitate knowledge exchange which can contribute positively to progress in key areas such as mental health, the reduction of gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, and HIV and AIDS. This initiative also aimed to build upon the long-term efforts set forth by the global community including former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Every Woman, Every Child Global Movement and the Global Strategy for Women’s Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030).

Present were Hon. Dr. Patricia Minnis, First Lady of The Bahamas, Hon. Kim Simplis Barrow, First Lady of Belize and Chair of SCLAN,  H.E. Sandra Granger, First Lady of the Republic of Guyana and Vice Chair, SCLAN, H.E. Martine Moise, First Lady of the Republic of Haiti, Hon. Eloise Gonsalves, First Lady of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ms. Laura Tucker-Longsworth, OBE,  Speaker of the Belize House of Representatives, PANCAP Champion and Director of PANCAP, Mr. Dereck Springer.