Supporting Disaster Preparedness throughout Hurricane Season 2019

For this reason, the United Nations World Food Programme continues to complement the work of the UN system in support of CDEMA’s hurricane preparedness efforts for the 2019 season and beyond. WFP works with partners to meet the needs of vulnerable people through strengthened end-to-end supply chain management in the region and linking national disaster risk management and social protection to better prepare for, respond to and mitigate the impact of shocks on the poor and most vulnerable.

WFP’s work contributed to enhancing CDEMA’s logistics capacity, and by extension that of its Participating States. Eighty disaster management and response professionals representing 14 different institutions across 17 CDEMA Participating States benefitted from end-to-end supply chain management trainings. These trainings attracted multiple stakeholders involved in disaster preparedness and response who engaged in simulation exercises and knowledge-exchange on key topics ranging from emergency logistics and pre-needs assessments and planning, to supply chain management and community relief efforts.

Further, logistics assets (including mobile storage units, prefab office space and energy solutions) and additional storage capacity, are now in place in CDEMA’s four sub-regional focal point countries (Antigua & Barbuda; Barbados; Jamaica; and Trinidad & Tobago) to enhance national and regional capacities to rapidly deploy and set up emergency logistics hubs in affected countries. Seventeen representatives from across five countries including Dominica, countries which also received logistics assets used post-hurricane Maria, benefitted from training on the use of these assets.

WFP continues to support increased national interest in making social protection systems and programmes more adaptive, particularly to shocks. This was evident in the first regional Symposium on Shock Responsive Social Protection, co-hosted by WFP and CDEMA on 27 June in Turks and Caicos. Fifteen countries convened to discuss the role and opportunities for social protection to play a greater role in disaster risk management (DRM), as well as innovative strategies around climate risk financing. The event brought together DRM and Social Protection high-level officials, representatives of regional and international organisations, and members of the donor community for a day packed with information sessions, panel discussions, interactive learning and round-table strategic planning.

WFP also presented on some preliminary findings from recently concluded cases studies on shock responsive social protection in Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia. These are part of a wider effort to increase knowledge on the subject in Latin America and the Caribbean. A video recording of the morning’s plenary can be viewed at: https://socialprotection.org/livestream-regional-symposium-shock-responsive-social-protection-caribbean and further information on the regional research programme on Shock-Responsive Social Protection in LAC can be found at: https://www1.wfp.org/publications/shock-responsive-social-protection-latin-america-and-caribbean.

The WFP Barbados Office for Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Caribbean supports the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and its Participating States to minimise the impact of shocks on vulnerable populations through capacity strengthening and technical assistance in Vulnerability Analysis, End-to-End Supply Chain Management, Shock Responsive Social Protection, and Climate Change Adaptation. This Programme is made possible with the kind support of the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Organisation (ECHO), the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXID), the UK Government, The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and the private sector.