Pledges support for violence prevention and climate resilience

Durrant Pate/Contributor

The United Kingdom Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Baroness Chapman, who arrived in Jamaica today, has brought good news for the island.

In her first trip to the Western Caribbean since being appointed, Baroness Chapman disclosed that the British government will be providing £15 million over the next six years to the UK-Jamaica Violence Prevention Programme (VPP), one of the UK’s largest aid projects in the region. During her two-day trip, she will be focused on violence prevention and climate resilience.

Baroness Chapman will be visiting the Edward Seaga Primary School, an early beneficiary of the VPP, which will support the Government of Jamaica to develop more effective responses to the underlying causes of violent crime, with the aim of eradicating violence through grassroots community activities and engagement with educational institutions. 

The Baroness Chapman visit marks the start of the VPP’s implementation, with plans for interventions across further Jamaican schools. She is also set to formally launch a joint programme for violence prevention and visit a UK-supported health centre that withstood Hurricane Beryl.

Jamaica highly valued Commonwealth partner

Baroness Chapman described Jamaica as a highly valued Commonwealth partner, adding, “My visit is an important opportunity to build on our two countries close collaboration. I am excited to see first-hand how our joint work on key challenges—from violent crime to climate resilience—is making a difference to Jamaicans.”

The British Minister will also visit an upgraded healthcare centre in Mandeville, funded by the UK through the ‘SMART’ Hospital Programme and implemented by the Pan American Health Organisation. She will tour the facility, which was able to largely withstand the impacts of Hurricane Beryl, remaining in operation to provide critical care to residents. 

The UK continues to invest in building climate resilient infrastructure, having provided £8m towards the ‘SMART’ hospital initiative in Jamaica, which has helped provide improvement to the facilities and a dedicated toolkit to staff. In July 2024, the UK also provided up to £500,000 to support Caribbean nations severely affected by Hurricane Beryl. 

UK-Jamaica bilateral relationship down for discussions

While in Jamaica, Baroness Chapman will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, Kamina Johnson Smith, where they will discuss the importance of the UK-Jamaica bilateral relationship and areas of cooperation. She will also meet with influential business figures and Chevening scholars.

To conclude her visit, tomorrow the British Minister will unveil a UK-Jamaica mural in downtown Kingston, painted by local artist Michael Elliot. The mural reflects the significant contribution of the Windrush Generation.