Eastern and Southern Caribbean Youth Situational Analysis

YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation conducted a Cross-Sectoral Youth Assessment (CSYA) from April to July 2020 at the request of USAID/Eastern and Southern Caribbean (ESC) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The purpose of the assessment was to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the youth landscape, including challenges, needs, opportunities, and resources across eleven Caribbean countries and six thematic areas (citizen security, youth development, economic growth, climate resilience, education, and health).

The assessment identifies the opportunities and challenges that youth, aged 10-29 years, face in reaching their potential. It also provides examples of regional success and best practices. The results are designed to provide data on the context of youth and to guide USAID, CDB and other development partners towards more strategic and intentional engagement with youth as key actors and facilitators of sustainable development solutions.

Countries included in the assessment were Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The assessment consisted of a desk review and virtual field research focused on five of the eleven countries. Results are based upon data collected from 28 key informant interviews; focus groups with 29 stakeholders; peer group discussions with 75 young people 18-29 years of age; and online survey data from 131 youth and 42 stakeholders. All data were collected virtually as the assessment was undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic.