The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says Washington is providing US $10 million to improve local resilience to disasters in priority countries in the Caribbean.
“With this new funding, USAID will support community-level organizations, host-country governments, regional institutions, and the private sector to strengthen local, national, and regional planning and preparation for hurricanes, earthquakes and other calamities,” said USAID Administrator Mark Green in making the announcement.
For example, he said USAID will finance training for local first-responders, harmonise disaster-preparedness standards, and coordinate and facilitate information-sharing among the governments of the region and civil society.
“These new activities will help to minimise the damage of disasters, reduce the loss of life and enhance response efforts in the Caribbean,” Green said.
“Under the US-Caribbean 2020 Strategy for Engagement and the US-Caribbean Resilience Partnership, the United States remains committed to assisting the people of the Caribbean to prepare for, recover from, and build resistance to natural disasters as part of their Journey to Self-Reliance,” he added.
“As neighbours, we all realize that communities across the Caribbean are still coping with the aftermath of Irma and Maria.
“In the Bahamas, we all know that residents still face a lengthy recovery from Hurricane Dorian,” Green continued. “It’s reasonable to hope that storms of this intensity never strike again. But it’s also reasonable and prudent to plan as though they will.”
Through these investments, Green said USAID is “committed to helping our partners across the Caribbean prepare for the worst and avert disasters before they occur”.
