UN Regional Coordinator and UNICEF representative make courtesy call on Opposition Leader Dr Douglas

The newly appointed United Nations’ Resident Regional Coordinator for St Kitts and Nevis His Excellency Mr. Didier Trebucq, paid a courtesy call on the Federation's Leader of the Opposition, The Right Honourable Dr. Denzil L Douglas on Friday, August 9, 2019.

Mr. Trebucq is also Resident Coordinator and Designated Official for Security to Barbados and the other islands of the OCES assumed duties in January. He succeeding Mr Stephen O’Malley.

In welcoming the high level diplomat and congratulating him on his new appointment, Dr Douglas drew the connection between Mr. Trebucq’s French roots and the history of the Federation which was once shared by both the French and the British colonizers.

The Opposition leader also praised the pivotal role that the UNDP has played over the years in advancing the sustainable development agenda of St Kitts and Nevis, particularly in easing the transition of the Federation away from the Sugar Industry into tourism and financial services, through the re-skilling and training of the former sugar workers.

“The UNDP has been a consistent and reliable partner in assisting the sustainable development agenda of St. Kitts and Nevis in the areas of social development, health, fisheries, climate change adaptation and resilience building efforts as well as disaster recovery. I would like to commend UNDP for recently completing a US$2 million Disaster-Roof Restoration Project in Antigua and Barbuda which had been badly hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The people of St Kitts and Nevis are grateful for the continued support of the UN System and the UNDP offices in particular for its partnership and collaboration on various projects over the years,” said Dr Douglas.

Mr Trebucq, in turn spoke to the United Nation’s commitment to small island developing states and addressing their unique challenges and concerns which he said was evidenced by the attendence of H.E. Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations at the recently concluded 40th Regular Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government that took place in St. Lucia in July 2019.

The UN representative also apprised Dr. Douglas of some of the reforms being taken by the UN Secretary General in enhancing the effectiveness of the UN’s country programmes in the Caribbean by delinking the offices of the UNDP coordinator and the Coordinator of the UN System which manages the work programmes of all the UN agencies that operate in the region such as UNICEF, PAHO, WHO and UN Women. He emphasized the strong commitment by the UN Secretary General in making its country operations within the region more effective by breaking the silos and pursuing strong partnerships in support of the region’s priorities especially in the areas of building resilience, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change.

Mr. Trebucq was accompanied by Dr. Aloys Kamuragiye, Representative of the UNICEF Office of the Eastern Caribbean Area as well as a staff assistant.

Dr Kamuragiye, took the opportunity to express his appreciation for the tremendous advances that St. Kitts and Nevis has made over the past 30 years in improving the welfare of children.

He credited Dr. Douglas for the significant improvements in child mortality and eliminating mother-to-child transfer of HIV/AIDS as well as in other areas such as access to early stimulation and primary education, access to water and sanitation and nutrition.

The Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) operates out of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) regional headquarters in Bridgetown, Barbados. H.E. Trebucq, a French national, has overall responsibility for the coordination of operational activities for development in Barbados and the OECS countries. The Resident Coordinator is the highest-ranking representative of the United Nations Development System in Barbados and the OECS.