(CARIFORUM Directorate, CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) - The Steering Committee of the Natural Disaster Facility in the CARIFORUM Programme, a regional disaster risk management initative, met recently in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines to review progress in implementing the 11th European Development Fund (11th EDF) Programme.

Committee Members are drawn from the CARIFORUM Directorate, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Barbados National Disaster Management Organisation (NDMO), Delegation of the European Union to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS, CARICOM/CARIFORUM, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the Dominican Republic National Emergency Commission (CNE).

Chair of the Committee Ms. Alexis Downes-Amsterdam, Director General of CARIFORUM, recalled the rationale behind the project. She highlighted some of the activities undertaken since the Programme commenced in 2019 and lauded the constructive collaboration among the implementing partners.

The Natural Disaster Facility in the CARIFORUM Programme contributes to the reduction of the vulnerability to disaster risks through capacity building, institutional support, and coordination.

Resources provided under the Programme supplement that provided in national budgets to mitigate the impacts of events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes. The Programme also aims to build resilience to environmental challenges in CARIFORUM States by strengthening preparedness, response, and recovery mechanisms.

With a €14M funding support under the 11th EDF, the Programme is executed through cooperation among the European Union, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, and the Dominican Republic National Emergency Commission (CNE).