Pamela McNeil Lecture To Focus On Adolescent Pregnancy

Adolescent pregnancy will be the main focus of the Annual Pamela McNeil Lecture, which will be held on Thursday, November 18, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

The Lecture, a signature event of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, will be live-streamed via the Internet on the WCJF’s Facebook and YouTube pages to locations across Jamaica and the Caribbean.

This year’s Lecture is titled, ‘Adolescent Pregnancy: Breaking the Cycle – Protecting our Girls’.

Presentations will be delivered virtually by the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon Olivia Grange, and former Director of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies, Regional Coordinating Office, University of the West Indies, Professor Opal Palmer Adisa.

Executive Director of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation, Dr. Zoe Simpson, told JIS News that the main objective of the Lecture is “to increase public awareness about adolescent pregnancy and to examine trends surrounding the issue”.

She said it will also assess the progress made to address the issues related to adolescent pregnancy and share experiences of the offspring of adolescent mothers and fathers.

Dr. Simpson noted that the work of the Foundation will also be highlighted and “a call to action to the national and international populations”.

“To date, the WCJF has assisted over 50,000 adolescent mothers to reposition their lives,” she said.

The Lecture is named in honour of the Foundation’s first National Director. It is delivered during the month of November, to coincide with the national focus on education and parenting –  two pivotal cornerstones of the Programme for Adolescent Mothers.