The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) approved a grant to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to assist with the review and strengthening of emergency response procedures in participating states.

Daniel Best, Director of Projects, CDB notes, “The Caribbean is among the most disaster prone regions in the world. A recent disaster management readiness audit by CDEMA has revealed an urgent need for improved planning and coordination across sectors, to strengthen preparedness and response mechanisms at the national level. This grant supports improvements in these areas, which, if made, will significantly reduce potential losses due to hazard impacts.”

The grant will provide resources to review and evaluate the preparedness and response procedures of The Bahamas, Barbados, Haiti and Saint Lucia. This will include an assessment of the national-level actions undertaken in response to Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and the development of recommendations for strengthening readiness and response protocols and procedures in these countries.

Through the technical assistance intervention, support will also be provided for the:

• development of action plans, inclusive of a communications plan, for strengthening national preparedness and response in the four selected countries;
• creation of model guidelines for national shutdown procedures, including provisions for reaching the poorest and most vulnerable members of the society, including the elderly, women and persons with disabilities; and
• conduct of a regional workshop to discuss national preparedness.

The grant will be funded through resources provided to CDB under the African Caribbean Pacific-European Union-CDB-Natural Disaster Risk Management in CARIFORUM Countries Programme (ACP-EU-CDB NDRM).

The intervention is consistent with the Bank’s strategic objective of supporting inclusive growth and sustainable development within its Borrowing Member Countries. It also aligns with CDB’s corporate priorities of promoting disaster risk management and climate change mitigation and adaptation; and improved protection and sustainable management of natural resources.

It is also consistent with Result 2 of the ACP-EU-CDB NDRM Programme to improve local, national and regional resilience through strengthened early warning, national risk profiling, community-based disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.