Women and families who would be impacted by the increased activity of the La Soufrière Volcano in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, should it become explosive, will have access to 400 dignity kits that have been donated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The United Nations Population Fund Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean has recently come to the assistance of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines through the pre-positioning and supply of dignity kits to the Gender Affairs Division and the Family Planning Unit within the Ministry of National Mobilisation, Social Development, Family, Gender Affairs, Youth, Housing and Informal Human Settlements and the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment respectively.
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the National Emergency Management Organisation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (NEMO) and the National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) in Antigua and Barbuda facilitated transportation of the dignity kits. According to Ms. Alison Drayton, Director of the UNFPA Caribbean, “dignity is about more than physical and mental well-being. It is about meeting the basic needs of the women who hold together the fabric of our communities in times of crisis.”
A dignity kit comprises the basic items that women and girls need to protect themselves and maintain hygiene and respect in the face of natural disasters.
Ms. La Fleur Quammie, Coordinator of Gender Affairs, said “the dignity kits would be handed over to NEMO to strengthen their response mechanism in the event of an explosive eruption of the volcano.”