On May 17, the Caribbean Development Bank' (CDB) Board of Directors approved a grant of USD3.5 million to pay Haiti' catastrophe risk insurance premium for the coming year. This marks the fourth year that CDB has provided a grant for the full payment of Haiti' premiums on earthquake, tropical cyclone and excess rainfall policies. The approved grant covers insurance for the period June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017. Given Haiti' fragility and high vulnerability to natural hazards, the Bank committed to paying its annual Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) premiums, as part of the CDB country partnership strategy for Haiti for the period 2013-2016. Haiti and other member countries of CCRIF, the world' first multi-country catastrophe risk pooling facility, benefit from sovereign insurance at affordable rates. Through CCRIF, countries receive timely, rapid cash payments after catastrophic earthquakes, hurricanes or excess rainfall events, which significantly impact their national economies. Haiti is still recovering from the impact of the 2010 earthquake, which caused more than 300,000 deaths, displaced over three million people, and made more than one million homeless. As of January 2016, approximately 45,000 Haitians were still living in tents and make-shift shelters, with little or no access to water and sanitation. The grant is being paid under the Eighth Cycle of the Special Development Fund, the focus of which includes promoting environmental sustainability and climate change resilience. CDB' programme in Haiti also spans education and training, community-driven development, agriculture, and capacity-building. Haiti formally became a member of the Bank in January 2007.