EU gives Caribbean US$25 mn to improve disaster management

The funding will be disbursed over the next five years, the Antigua and Barbuda Government said Wednesday in a statement.

It is expected the EU aid will be used to strengthen critical infrastructure to make it more resilient in the face of natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.

“The flash-flooding which occurred in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as St. Lucia last December should be a wake-up call for the Caribbean. It should send the signal that the region should be prepared, not only for the hurricane season, but for any disaster-related eventuality,” the head of the EU delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Mikael Barfod, said.

The grant will be divided among: Antigua and Barbuda; the Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; the Dominican Republic; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; Suriname; St. Lucia; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; and Trinidad and Tobago.