ACP COUNCIL APPROVES ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO FIGHT ZIKA VIRUS (MFA&FT Kingston: April 28, 2016)
At the request of Jamaica, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Council of
Ministers recently granted approval for the allocation of Intra-ACP funds under the
11th European Development Fund to support the fight against the Zika Virus in the
Caribbean. This approval came on the final day of the 103 rd Session of the ACP
Council, which took place from April 25 – 27.
Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Foreign Trade, who leads the Jamaican delegation to the ACP Council meeting, had
proposed on behalf of CARIFORUM, during Tuesday’s ACP Ministerial Meeting on
Development Cooperation, that, “intra-ACP funds be made available to support the
fight against the Zika Virus in Jamaica and the other countries in the Caribbean, in
light of its serious potential for economic and social harm”.
Minister Johnson Smith also made interventions at the ACP Council on sustainable
development, climate change, youth inclusion and entrepreneurship, as well as
preparations for the 14 th Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD XIV).
The Jamaican delegation remains in Senegal to attend the two-day 41 st Session of
the Joint ACP-EU Council meeting, which starts today, (Thursday, April 28), and
which will focus on the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA) between the ACP and the EU, and other issues on the multilateral agenda,
including climate change, the implementation of the Sustainable Development
Goals and the outcome of the 10 th WTO Ministerial Conference.
