The ActionAid strategic plan aims to eradicate poverty and fight against injustice in Jamaica. Jamaica has a significantly high poverty level, which predominantly affects women and children. The financial burden faced by the aforementioned population groups makes it difficult for them to acquire education or get empowered in society. Therefore, women and young people often do not understand their rights. Moreover, the structural setup of the country is partly the cause of poverty and injustice in the society (ActionAid, 2017). The intervention, as set up in the ActionAid strategic plan, is meant to appraise the life of women by facilitating access to education and creating employment opportunities.
A significant part of the Jamaican population endures a low standard of development. The societal setup, with many women not having any land, has resulted in the emergence of many women unpaid laborers. Besides, the legislative set up of the country that hinders women’s success in certain professions has contributed to the continuing high level of poverty among women (ActionAid, 2017). In Jamaica, like in most developing countries, women are more likely to be unemployed compared to their male counterparts- unpaid care and domestic work are some of the major barriers preventing women from acquiring decent work. Despite the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, the inequalities and the disparities in pay between men and women continues to grow (ActionAid, 2017). Furthermore, the relatively lower level of labor protection results in continued mistreatment of women laborers and young people. The creation of employment opportunities has not matched the growth of the labor force, resulting in a greater number of employees in vulnerable employments and restricted opportunities to take part in collective bargaining, weaker job security, lower-income, and lower access to social protection (ActionAid, 2017). Furthermore, despite the stabilization of the global unemployment rate, Jamaica still experiences a relatively higher rate of unemployment. The lack of job opportunities for youth is a huge challenge globally, with the 13% unemployment rate among youths tripling the unemployment rate in the adult population (ActionAid, 2017). Jamaica is one of the countries that suffer from high youth unemployment.
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Access to free, safe, and quality education is vital in ensuring higher literacy levels. While the literacy rate among girls is not bad, a significant part of the population does not understand its rights to free, quality education (ActionAid, 2017). In addition, the gendering of subjects, with girls expected to pursue literature and boys expected to pursue physics and mathematics, is also preventing students from pursuing their preferred subjects. The policy- and decision-makers in the education system have also failed to account for the inadequate resources and other gaps that exist in schools and the national education system (ActionAid, 2017). Moreover, while the rate of school dropout is quite similar between boys and girls in Jamaica, the consequences of school dropout for girls is more severe. The factors in the education system are some of the key contributors to the higher poverty levels and increased rate of unemployment among adult women in Jamaica.
The objective of the ActionAid strategic plan is to eradicate the aforementioned problems. The plan targets to improve access to education for girls by raising awareness about the right to education and mobilizing youths to access their rights (ActionAid, 2008). In addition, the ActionAid strategic plan will involve active engagement with education authorities to help improve schools in the region. Furthermore, the strategic plan targets to alleviate women from poverty by increasing the rate of employment (ActionAid, 2008). Aside from increasing the rate of employment, the plan will strive to eradicate any systemic barriers that prevent women from accessing decent employment.
References
ActionAid, (2008). Handbook: National and International Working across ActionAid International. https://actionaid.org/sites/default/files/aai_national_international_handbook_01april2008.pdf
ActionAid. (2017). Annual Report 2017 . https://actionaid.org/sites/default/files/actionaid_annual_report_2017_0.pdf
