T&T third best Commonwealth country to be born a girl

Port-of-Spain: A new report of the Plan UK and the Royal Commonwealth Society has ranked Trinidad and Tobago as the third best place to be born a girl among the 54 Commonwealth countries of the world. New Zealand topped the list and Barbados followed in second place.

This country also ranks among the highest in the world when it comes to promoting gender equality and providing equal opportunity for women.

Minister of the People and Social Affairs Dr Glen Ramadharsingh said government has provided women with equal access to education, training and employment but he noted that the epidemic of aids continues to impact on the female population, increasing by fourteen percent in 2008, while addressing a conference on women's affairs in Port-of-Spain Tuesday.

The minister said that while emphasis is placed on women, equal attention must also be paid to the young vulnerable male population.

Minister Ramadharsingh called for a united front by both men and women in confronting the challenge of HIV/AIDS. (see feature story below)