CARICOM support for hurricane devastated island continues

Following on from the successful staging of the CARICOM-UN High Level Pledging Conference at UN Headquarters in New York on 21 November 2017, the Steering Committee has continued to meet with renewed focus on translating pledges into concrete programmes and initiatives.

The Steering Committee, comprising representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Regional Institutions and CARICOM Member States including those devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria, held its most recent meeting on Tuesday 9 January 2018. The Committee is examining the option of a follow-up meeting to the Pledging Conference to map out actions  to meet the objective of building a more climate resilient Community.

The Pledging Conference mobilized a broad partnership to support the rebuilding effort including through US1.3 billion in pledges and over US1 billion in loans and debt relief. This support came from nearly 400 high-level representatives from governments, multilateral and civil society organisations and businesses.

Irma and Maria – two category five hurricanes, hit the region during a two week period in September, decimating decades of development gains in Dominica, Barbuda – the sister island of Antigua, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.  The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis and Haiti also suffered damage.  Other Caribbean Islands, notably St. Maarten, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominica Republic were also significantly impacted.