Education for Rural People in the Caribbean

WASHINGTON and ROME, May 12 -- International attention turns towards the Caribbean region on the eve of a regional conference on education for rural people (*) to take place in Saint Lucia on 18 and 19 May 2006.

Representatives of ministries of agriculture, education and health, and international agencies, NGOs and the private sector will attend the meeting, which is part of a global partnership launched by FAO and UNESCO during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development to eradicate poverty and hunger. A similar meeting for the African region took place last year in Addis Ababa.

"Participants will discuss a wide range of issues including food, nutrition, education, school gardens, HIV/AIDS and gender," according to Marcela Villarreal, head of FAO's Gender and Population Division.

"Education is essential for the rural poor, many of whom are women. It is also essential for rural children who lose their parents to AIDS. Field schools need to be developed to provide essential skills and knowledge to orphaned children. Educating the rural poor contributes to preventing the pandemic from expanding rapidly in rural areas," Ms Villarreal says.

Worldwide, 100 million children ... // 66% Remaining