Let’s truly leave no one behind
THE post-budget conversations continue about the quantum of the various allocations in the estimates of expenditure.
What’s more, the cadre of newly elected councillors ought to be busy seeing how best they can make a dent in meeting the needs of their constituents as they wet their feet in their roles that boast new salaries.
So it would seem all eyes are trained on the people. Still, there is debate as to whether regular Jamaicans are benefiting in their pockets or at their dining tables.
A modified schedule of benefits for the beneficiaries of the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) has been signalled and there is hope that help is getting to those who need it.
Such is the mission of the recently announced National Poverty Reduction Leaving No One Behind (LNOB) Toolkit.
We were told at the March 21 launch that it is intended to build the capacity of poverty reduction stakeholders; strengthen service delivery to the poor and vulnerable; and increase partnership, collaboration and information sharing.
Director of PATH in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Mrs Elsa Marks-willis explained that: “The toolkit will specially assist the ministry, firstly, to identify those who are left or at risk of being left behind, owing to policies and programme designs that govern access, reach, and/or delivery. Secondly, the toolkit will help to strengthen service delivery to the poor and vulnerable, as programme gaps can be readily identified and strategies posited to close those gaps...”
This presupposes that every individual in need has access to enrolment in one programme or the other that will serve their interest.
We, in this space, would want to hold confidence in Mrs Marks-willis’s assertion that all gaps will be closed and the net will reach the poorest of the poor.
Problem is, we can’t help but acknowledge that the “no one left behind” title pays only lip service to the reality.
Anecdotal as the coverage may seem, there is no lack of a story for publishing of an individual or family who needs basic amenities or social services. Our pages are replete with the heartbreaking stories and images.
As well, our column Tell Claudienne, published as part of our weekly Sunday Finance product, continues to be fed requests by mothers and other caregivers in need waiting to be enrolled in the same PATH set-up managed by Mrs Marks-willis.
To be clear, we do not speak for irresponsible people who purchase hair, nails and lashes rather than send their children to school with meals in their bellies. Neither do we speak of the ones who prefer to live off State programmes rather than pursue employment.
We think of the schools that continue to cry about the insufficiency of the grants received from PATH to provide at least one hot meal per day per child.
As the Administration pursues its prosperity programme it can no longer afford to miss the poor and vulnerable. Therefore, the proper substructure must be established to truly say no one will be left behind.
We wish Mrs Marks-willis well, and trust that when the mission is achieved the work of the various foundations across the island can become more strategic. And, no doubt, we will find other stories to fill our pages than the faces of need and neglect for whom we have been advocating over the years.