[{"bbox": [97, 154, 1133, 338], "category": "Text", "text": "Activities focus on strengthening coordination at policy and operational levels, improving data systems, promoting community engagement, enhancing school safety, renovating community spaces, and supporting survivors of GBV. Other activities include academic improvement initiatives, case management for at-risk youth, and maintaining policy dialogue with stakeholders. By contributing to prevent crime and violence, reengage and trained unattached workforce and reducing dropout from schools, the action creates a more enabling environment for economic growth and productive investments, for public and private stakeholders to operate and deliver on the EU Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA)."}, {"bbox": [87, 379, 505, 408], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 1.3 Zone benefitting from the Action"}, {"bbox": [87, 425, 908, 450], "category": "Text", "text": "The Action shall be carried out in Jamaica which is included in the list of ODA recipients."}, {"bbox": [87, 480, 321, 509], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [87, 544, 233, 569], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [97, 590, 1133, 748], "category": "Text", "text": "Jamaica is the largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean, with 2.97 million people, and a well consolidated democracy since independence in 1962. The country is a key regional opinion former and actor through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In addition to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU, it partners with the US, Canada and more recently with the UK through region-to-country free trade arrangements. These are its most important allies outside of the immediate region. Its democracy has been stable over the recent years."}, {"bbox": [97, 750, 1133, 828], "category": "Text", "text": "Over the last years, Jamaica has successfully reduced public debt, anchored inflation, and strengthened its external position. It has built a strong track record of investing in institutions and prioritizing macroeconomic stability, which allowed Jamaica's response to recent global shocks to be prudent, agile, and supportive of growth."}, {"bbox": [97, 856, 276, 881], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### EU priority sectors"}, {"bbox": [97, 882, 1133, 1040], "category": "Text", "text": "The partnership with Jamaica builds upon the long-standing EU's engagement on environmental protection and citizen security, and is especially anchored to the part of the Global Gateway on Digital, and of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance. The EU will continue distinguishing itself from other partners by strengthening its focus on three flagships (i) to support the digital transition, in order to promote a sustainable and inclusive economy; (ii) to address the adverse consequences of climate change and spur Jamaica's resilience; (iii) to promote improved governance, human rights, gender equality and citizen security."}, {"bbox": [97, 1068, 621, 1093], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Good Governance, Citizen Security and Gender Equality"}, {"bbox": [97, 1095, 1133, 1225], "category": "Text", "text": "A high level of crime and violence, including gender-based violence, violence against children, and violence against social leaders, along with persistent poverty and inequality, slow economic growth, low quality and access to basic public services, affect human security in the most vulnerable communities and impose hardships on people, especially youths, women and children, undercutting prospects for peace, stability, safety and sustainable development."}, {"bbox": [97, 1227, 1133, 1407], "category": "Text", "text": "Reducing the levels of crime and violence in the country continues to be a major focus for the Government of Jamaica (GOJ). As such, the GOJ continued to use a combination of measures aimed at reducing and preventing crime and violence. This included short-term interventions such as the declaration of communities as Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs) and the declaration of States of Public Emergencies (SOEs) in police divisions. Medium to long-term interventions included legislative updates; building the technological capacity of the security forces; and social intervention programmes to provide well-needed services to residents in volatile and vulnerable communities."}, {"bbox": [97, 1411, 1133, 1516], "category": "Text", "text": "As the GOJ continued its “Clear, Hold, Build” approach to manage crime and violence at the community level, various social interventions were undertaken including the provision of educational and skills training, assistance in identifying, establishing and expanding income generation activities, provision of psycho-social support and provision of access to justice services."}, {"bbox": [97, 1519, 1133, 1623], "category": "Text", "text": "Work done under the Community Renewal Programme (CRP) has identified the 100 most volatile and vulnerable communities across the parishes registering the highest levels of crime and violence. However, a number of the communities identified have received little or no targeted intervention due to inadequate resources and even in communities that have received support, the interventions have only been able to focus on a limited number of"}, {"bbox": [1035, 1681, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 32"}]