The Caribbean Disaster Response Agency (CDEMA), in partnership with Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FDCO) commenced its Regional Recovery Symposium yesterday December 6, 2021. The two-day symposium is focusing on the updated Model National Recovery Framework (MNRF) for CDEMA Participating States (PSs) to address recovery in a holistic manner, given the multi- hazard nature of the Caribbean, a release from CDEMA states.

Executive Director, Elizabeth Riley explained that disasters continue to exact a large toll on the CDEMA PSs.

She referenced the April 2021 eruption of La Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the August 2021 earthquake in Haiti which incurred costs of EC $739million and US $1.9billion respectively for repair and rehabilitation.

“Within the context of Small Island Developing States, or SIDS, the task of resilient recovery becomes more complex when set against the backdrop of our inherent vulnerabilities and demands that we approach disaster recovery in a strategic manner,” she said.

“ Disasters are exacting a huge toll on small island states of the Caribbean because the region faces such diverse hazards ranging from the biological events such as the COVID-19 pandemic to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes to severe flood events and devastating hurricanes.” As the symposium convened to discuss the MNRF, she stated that it is an inclusive tool to guide states in effective recovery planning.

CDEMA received funding, through the EnGenDER project funded by Global Affairs Canada and the UK FDCO, to update the 2015 MNRF and support the adaptation of the framework in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The 2021 MNRF is an ex-ante disaster recovery framework that provides guidance for CDEMA Participating States, and is a highly adaptable and versatile tool that can be adjusted to an individual country’s conditions and can be revised on a regular basis, the release explains.

The symposium is also orienting policy makers on key recovery tools/instruments to guide the strategic and institutional approaches to advancing recovery and support governments to enhance recovery planning systems that are inclusive (gender sensitive and consider the vulnerable and marginalised). The launch of the Caribbean Resilient Recovery Facility was also featured during the virtual symposium.

Attendees from across the Caribbean attended the virtual Regional Recovery Symposium 2021.