Minister of Social Development Michael Browne, has called for a focussed and concerted national programme aimed at the complete removal of food poverty in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

The Minister’s call came on July 12 as he addressed the first class of the Children Against Poverty (CAP) programme at the Sion Hill Government School.

Browne saluted the progress made under the ULP administration in reducing both general and food poverty in the country. He noted that, under the previous NDP administration, general poverty was placed at 37.5% of the population in 1995, while food poverty was 25.7%. By 2007, general poverty had been reduced to 30.2% (a drop of 7.3%) and food poverty to 2.9% (a significant drop of 22.8%). The downward trend explained the Minister, means that general poverty, three years later (2010) is estimated at about 25% of the population while food poverty is under 2%.

The Social Development Minister stressed that with food-poverty at such a small figure, a concerted national effort could see the complete removal within one to two years. Browne said that his Ministry will host a national symposium, following the end of the Children Against Poverty (CAP) programme, to chart the way forward for the removal of poverty in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with emphasis on food-poverty.