Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will soon be able to better prepare for and respond to emergency situations, thanks to the approval of a $750,000 grant to assist the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in coordinating emergency assistance.
When a country experiences a hazard occurrence, CDB’s assistance will increase CDEMA’s capabilities to supplement national emergency response activities.
Training of emergency response workers, especially social and gender experts, to work with national teams is one of the initiatives that will be implemented.
Through the creation of Country Work Programmes, CDEMA would also permit increased technical support for national disaster management bodies.
The assistance is timely, especially in light of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report, which stated that small island states are increasingly likely to be affected by the “most intense tropical cyclones, storm surges, droughts, and changing precipitation patterns.”
Daniel Best, CDB’s Director of Projects, stated that these dangers “can result in significant economic, social, and environmental damage and loss, as well as significant reconstruction costs for BMCs.”
“Hazard events also have a negative impact on people’s mental health, and the people who suffer the most are often those from low-income households or communities.” As a result, considerable disaster mitigation systems must be put in place to allow our BMCs to recover quickly after a crisis,” he stated.
Following a tragedy, a country’s numerous specific sectors frequently struggle for the limited resources required for national development, which can stifle economic growth and long-term development. Strengthening CDEMA’s capacity to supplement national support networks will minimize vulnerability and alleviate some of the social and financial costs suffered at the local and national levels in the event of a disaster.
The engagement with CDEMA is part of CDB’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the Region’s resilience and adaptation capacity to disaster risk and climate change impacts. Furthermore, it is expected that putting in place well-coordinated, timely recovery processes will increase environmental resilience.
