THA Secretary of Health and Wellness Dr Faith Brebnor has announced that the Division is preparing to roll out its Universal Child Benefit Programme, under which every child born after January 1st, 2026, will receive $500 per month for the first five years of life.
Dr Brebnor made the announcement during World Breastfeeding Week observances.
During the event, Dr Brebnor underscored the need to create stronger family foundations for children. She noted that the Tobago House of Assembly’s proposed Universal Child Benefit Programme, first announced in 2025, is nearing implementation.
Under the initiative, every child born from January 1st, 2026, onwards will receive $500 per month for the first five years of life, deposited into a dedicated trust fund under the Universal Child Benefit Programme.
“We actually have a new digital platform that we want to test out, so we want to test it with about 20 people, so the first 20 from January, we are going to call you to have you test it out with us this week to make sure we worked out all of the kinks and make sure we have everything ready.”
Meanwhile, measures such as the newborn baby box are being evaluated to ensure they meet the needs of mothers.
“We are at the point where we are going to be accessing what we put in it and looking at whether we need to take out some stuff because allyuh say ‘nah, we doesn’t really need to use them here.'”
While addressing the importance of breastfeeding support, Dr Brebnor called for greater understanding and compassion for mothers and their families. She urged the public to offer support without judgement, recognising that every mother and baby experiences a unique journey and may face different challenges along the way.
“There are those mothers who, before the baby even reach out the womb, he or she is latching on to the breast. And there are others, they don’t want to see that nipple for nothing. And we have to ensure that we provide the support to every spectrum, to everyone who is on that spectrum.”
She also called for other public sector offices to establish dedicated spaces for breastfeeding mothers, providing them with a safe, private and comfortable environment to express breast milk for their babies.
“I am using this opportunity though to publicly call out my colleagues to ensure that that does not just happen at my Division, but that it happens throughout the Tobago House of Assembly.”
Held in conjunction with the Trinidad and Tobago Breastfeeding Association, this is the 25th year the walk has been hosted.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week theme was “Breastfeeding for a sustainable start in life: strengthen what works.”