“I call on developed countries to help SIDS help themselves. We cannot wait till 2020 to see finance to deal with the emergency situations, build resilience in our countries as far as possible, and the loss and damage that is already occurring.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has promised to ramp up advocacy for the reform of development assistance rules which member states say are restricting aid to storm ravished countries in the Caribbean. The Secretary-General made the commitment at meetings with leaders in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica during visits to the countries to discuss Commonwealth support after hurricanes Irma and Maria caused widespread devastation. Today she issued a statement about her trip to the islands.
Joint Op-Ed by
Achim Steiner is Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme www.undp.org
The Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) has approved the Regional Agriculture Emergency Response Sub-Committee to provide prompt action to help the agriculture sector in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States to rebound after natural disasters.
Approval came at the 71st Special Meeting of the COTED on Agriculture held at the CARICOM Secretariat on Friday 6 October, 2017.
With food security as its priority, the government of Antigua and Barbuda is pursuing a “different vision” as it moves to rebuild the agriculture sector of Barbuda which was destroyed following the passage of Hurricane Irma in September.
A series of devastating storms in the Caribbean has highlighted the vulnerability of small island states, where a single hurricane can undo years of development and plunge prosperous households into poverty from one day to the next.
Hurricane Irma turned 90 percent of homes on Barbuda to rubble and left financial losses of USD 100-200 million. Hurricane Maria has knocked out power to the entire US territory of Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Maria has destroyed the agriculture sector in Dominica. The Category Five hurricane flattened Dominica on 18 September.
NASSAU, The Bahamas, Guardian – As he laid out a part of the government’s plan to assist Dominican children and their families today, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis choked back tears as he recounted the devastation that Hurricane Maria unleashed on the small island nation and expressed shame at the vitriolic response of some Bahamians to his pledge to assist Dominican students.
REGIONAL disaster management and relief authorities are predicting that it will cost Dominica several billions of dollars to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, which struck the Eastern Caribbean island last week, killing an estimated 20 people and leaving the small island nation in devastation.
In the wake of the category five hurricane, there have been reports of persons desperately in need of food and shelter, while there have also been reports of security threats in the capital, Roseau.