KINGSTON, Jamaica (October 12, 2005) – The United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA is going full steam ahead to promote gender equality in the Caribbean. Harold Robinson, Kingston-based UNFPA representative for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean said that the Caribbean needs to look at gender inequality seriously and he encourages Caribbean writers and editors to state their case for the impending UNFPA Caribbean Media Awards on “Gender Equality, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals.” “In Jamaica, for example, where women account for more that 70% of university graduates and are visible in top leadership positions, two thirds of households living below the poverty line are female headed and two thirds of new HIV infections in the age group 10-19 occur among girls,” Robinson cited. Similarly, he said, specific issues affecting males need to be addressed, such as their under-participation and under-achievement in education, and their more visible presence in prisons, morgues and crime statistics across the Caribbean. UNFPA is inviting Caribbean reporters working in the region and those from Caribbean communities in North America and Europe to submit their work for the UNFPA 2005 Caribbean Media Awards to be presented in Kingston, Jamaica on Tuesday, December 6, 2005. The competition will recognise print, radio and television reporters' coverage of such subjects as addressing gender inequities through education, how gender inequalities fuel the HIV/AIDS epidemic among young people, how boys and young men can foster the idea of partnership and mutually supportive relations with women, with special attention on HIV prevention and responsible parenthood, the human rights of girls and their equal access to education, health and developmental opportunities, and the connections between them. The December 6, UNFPA Caribbean Media Awards will recognise writers, editors and broadcasters for work published or broadcast between September 16, 2004 and October 14, 2005 in print, radio or television, and also recognize outstanding work in the youth reporter (under 21 years of age) and Diaspora reporter categories. Entries will be accepted by the UNFPA Representative in Jamaica (for Jamaica entries only) and Washington-based Counterpart International, co-producers of the event. As journalists prepare for the UNFPA Caribbean Media Awards, UNFPA released the Annual State of World Population Report, on October 12, 2005. Subtitled, "The Promise of Equality: Gender Equality, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Goals” it examines how gender equality reduces poverty and saves and improves lives. It proves the case for investing in the women and young people who are now the majority of the world's population. The report also shows that investment in the education, reproductive health, and economic opportunities of women and girls has longer term and intergenerational payoffs. However, while the report shows some successes in the quest to achieve gender equality, worldwide women and girls continue to suffer horrifying levels of violence, poverty and discrimination. Sixty per cent of those with HIV/AIDS are women, with the majority of new infections occurring in young women between the ages of 15 and 24. UNFPA (www.unfpa.org) assists government and civil society to improve equity in reproductive health, build capacity in population and development strategies and to promote gender equality. It supports programming in all these areas, and is active across the board in promoting sustainable economic and social development within the framework of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (www.un.org/millenniumgoals). For further information, visit www.caribbeanmediaawards.com or contact Counterpart International Communications Associate Kyla Springer (kyla@counterpart.org or + 1 202 296-9676) or Althea Buchanan, UNFPA Advocacy and Communications Advisor (buchanan@unfpa.org or + 1 876 906-8591).