THE STRATEGY WILL INTEGRATE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME BENEFICIARIES INTO SERVICES THAT PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT.

In a push to reduce poverty and promote sustainable livelihoods, Saint Lucia has begun fast-tracking its Graduation Strategy for Social Assistance (2022–2030), via a plan to help vulnerable households transition from welfare dependency to self-sufficiency.

Approved by Cabinet in May 2023, the strategy focuses on integrating Public Assistance Programme (PAP) beneficiaries into services that promote employment, entrepreneurship, and human capital development.

To advance implementation, a recent capacity-building workshop convened for key stakeholders, including Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia Inc., the James Belgrave Micro Enterprise Development Fund Inc. (BELFund), the Centre for Adolescent Renewal and Education (C.A.R.E.), and the Saint Lucia Crisis Centre, all of whom contributed to the strategy’s initial design.

The workshop also served as a forum for critical reflection on the strategy’s direction and on the collective responsibility of all actors to ensure its success. Technical Coordinator for the Human Capital Resilience Project, Juliana Daniel-Foster, emphasized the importance of shared ownership and coherence across programmes.

“We acknowledge that while empowerment and economic inclusion are valued in our society, it is an underlying theme in our social sector, with education and human capital resilience;. - through Family and Community Services, we did not have a full framework, nor a strategic framework that we could look to. What we had came in the form of various programmatic interventions, some short-term, some long-term, all with the same objective: acknowledging that certain persons have the capabilities, and if they receive the right support in a targeted and strategic way, they will improve.”

Building on that foundation, the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment introduced its new Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework, designed to build capacity among partners and ensure the strategy remains adaptable and results-oriented.

Permanent Secretary Dr. Charmaine Hippolyte Emmanuel described the workshop as part of a broader movement to elevate the practice of social protection in Saint Lucia

“As practitioners and stakeholders in the field of social protection and empowerment, our attendance today signifies our desire to strengthen our understanding, sharpen our tools, unify our strategies, and continue on the collaborative journey of ongoing efforts to strengthen the social protection sector, the poverty and social protection-linked SDGs by 2030.”

The Strategy for Graduation is being piloted from 2023 to 2025, initially targeting Public Assistance Programme (PAP) recipients. Lessons from the pilot will guide wider implementation, ensuring no one is left behind in Saint Lucia’s quest for inclusive development.