Volume 7 - Issue 4 April 2020 The Hummingbird DEBT RELIEF CARIBBEAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS MEET ECLAC’S EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, TO ANALYZE DEBT RELIEF PROPOSALS COVID-19 THE CARIBBEAN REGION IN THE FACE OF THE PANDEMIC DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT INNOVATION IN DISASTER RISK MITIGATION IN THE CARIBBEAN ECLAC CARIBBEAN Contents About us 4 Economic impact of COVID-19 in the Caribbean Issued on a monthly basis, The Hummingbird offers strategic insights into the latest projects, 8 Caribbean Heads of State publications, technical assistance missions and research carried out by ECLAC Caribbean. In and Finance Ministers meet addition to these, sneak previews are provided ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, of the most salient upcoming events, alongside Alicia Bárcena. enriching follow-ups to previously covered issues. With a view to featuring a variety of facets of Caribbean life and lifestyle, The Hummingbird 10 COVID-19: Caribbean Update also zooms in on cultural activities and landmark occurrences through an eye-opening regional 14 The government of Jamaica is round-up. building shelters for battered women EDITORIAL TEAM Editor: Alexander Voccia 16 Innovation in Disaster Risk Copy Editor: Denise Balgobin Mitigation in the Caribbean Publication Design: Blaine Marcano 18 Sustainable ocean Please see our contact details on the back cover of management in the this magazine Caribbean 20 State of Affairs 2|The Hummingbird International Days 6 April International Day of Sport for Posted Apr 3 Development and Peace #ECLAC Executive Secretary launched a new report on the economic and social effects of the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/2RaITwR 7 April World Health Day 22 April International Mother Earth Day 23 April International Girls in ICT Day 26 April Posted Apr 2 We invite citizens of Trinidad and Tobago to support your government in World Intellectual Property Day the preparation of its first Voluntary National Review of progress with the SDGS!: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TTSDGSurvey Upcoming Meetings 3 April Economic and Social Council, Posted Mar 23 The number of poor in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region could Partnership forum - New York rise from 185 to 220 million, out of 620 million inhabitants, due to the #Coronavirus. Read more: https://bit.ly/2QxZPgt #Covid19AndLatAm 20 - 27 April United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 14th session - Kyoto The Hummingbird |3 SNEAK PREVIEW ARTICLE Look out for more in upcoming issues! Economic impact of COVID-19 in the Caribbean s the world grapples and is expected to have a major and livestock; education; with the impact of one impact on the economies of the transportation, with a focus on Aof the worst health subregion. As many Caribbean aviation and shipping; retail challenges to face humanity countries are shouldering an and distribution, and energy in decades, governments unsustainable public debt, with special attention to and oil across the Caribbean are the impact of the fallout in and gas. For each sector, the implementing strategies to government revenue and the impact assessment will present prevent, contain, mitigate and expected increase in social the socioeconomic costs related manage the spread of the novel expenditure will have to be to loss of revenue, additional coronavirus (COVID-19) and its carefully assessed. expenditures, temporary consequences. unemployment and the general This analysis being prepared welfare of households as a result ECLAC Caribbean, together by ECLAC Caribbean will of COVID-19. with the United Nations system ascertain the likely impact of and key regional organizations, the pandemic on the economies The study is expected to become has embarked on a careful of the subregion as a whole. publicly available by mid May assessment to estimate the Entitled `Economic Impact of 2020. economic and social impact of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus the virus on the economies of in the Caribbean’, the study the subregion. The study will will provide estimates of the serve as a resource to inform economic cost of policy actions governments’ decision-making that have been taken in response with respect to policy options. to COVID-19. The Novel Coronavirus, known The analysis will focus on select as COVID-19, is affecting the sectors, namely: health; tourism; way of life of Caribbean people agriculture, including fisheries 4|The Hummingbird Barbados working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions arbados is actively playing its role in severe dry seasons in a considerable time in ensuring increased efforts towards Barbados. We are planting over one billion trees Breducing levels of global greenhouse across the landscape within the year 2020 and I gas emissions over the next decade in order to can give you the assurance that we will achieve minimize the worst impacts of climate change. the objectives.” This was indicated by Environment Minister, Trevor Prescod, as he addressed the second Prescod also told the gathering that “2020 annual meeting of the Caribbean Cooperative must be another significant year for addressing Measurement, Reporting and Verification Hub climate action.” He stated the day’s CCMRVH (CCMRVH). event was “an opportunity for the region to build the needed capacity in the fight against climate Held recently at Hilton Barbados Resort, the change and not only as an exercise to facilitate Forum was attended by representatives and reporting to the [United Nations Framework technical experts from CARICOM countries and Convention on Climate Change] UNFCCC.” international and regional organizations. Outlining some of the work his government He expressed a wish to see the element of is doing, Prescod said, “At present, we are innovation brought into the day’s discussions looking at alternative energy programmes across as attendees deliberate on the activities to be Barbados and the Prime Minister is placing great undertaken, and this exercise should be the emphasis on that.” vehicle for achieving such. He added, “We have a programme which we intend to reach, even with the challenges of the climate, because this is probably one of the most The Hummingbird |5 The Hummingbird Caribbean Heads of State and Finance Ministers meet ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena 6|The Hummingbird orrowing cannot be the solution for Caribbean countries to address the COVID-19 crisis. Instead, what is urgently needed is access to concessional funding and debt relief. This, according to ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, who presided over a videoconference that discussed B the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across the subregion on 28 April 2020. Read More The Hummingbird |7 Caribbean Heads of State and Finance Ministers meet ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, to analyze debt relief proposals and other measures to fight the effects of COVID-19 Moderated by ECLAC Caribbean region for the next several months. Browne. Director, Diane Quarless, the virtual We are putting the Caribbean first in meeting brought together Prime everything we do”. In the face of these challenges, Ministers, Premiers, Finance Ministers, Bárcena commended the subregion’s Financial Secretaries and other high- The Executive Secretary’s words were senior decision makers for “putting level government representatives echoed by the concerns expressed the health and wellbeing of their from 15 Caribbean countries, along by the high-level decision makers in populations first”. However, these with heads of Caribbean regional attendance, all of whom underscored efforts notwithstanding, ECLAC’s organizations and representatives of the highly vulnerable economic Executive Secretary recognized other UN agencies. situation that the countries of the that they had “come at a very high subregion are currently facing. “The cost, particularly in your subregion, In her welcome remarks to the economic burden for our countries which already suffers a high level Caribbean authorities, Bárcena has been unsustainable because of of vulnerability to both climatic and emphasized that “we find ourselves the high levels of debt. We don’t economic shocks, and with many of in very challenging times. There can have the capacity for printing money your economies already shouldering be no doubt that COVID-19 will have and our policy instruments are very debt that is still very heavy, even with a profound and lasting impact on limited”, stressed Prime Minister progress made to reduce external the welfare of our countries and our of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston debt levels in recent years”. 8|The Hummingbird The ECLAC’s resilience fund proposal has the potential to offer much needed long-term relief particularly to middle income countries... - Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, ECLAC to be considered in his platform of flexible support from multilateral Moreover, given the severe advocacy on behalf of small island, institutions, including lines of constraints being faced to service middle income countries in his emergency financing”, she insisted. debt payments in the current engagement with the international circumstances, countries urged financial community for support. These statements came on the ECLAC’s support to engage with the heels of ECLAC’s latest projections, international community for better In addition, the Executive Secretary according to which GDP growth in access to grants and concessional also stressed that relief for debt the Caribbean is expected to drop financing. Proposals advanced service payments can be extremely in 2020 by -2.5%, with a downward during the meeting included that useful to supporting financing needs. bias, while countries are spending consideration be given to having In this regard, she emphasized that between 1% and 4% of GDP to tackle credit extended to countries which the crisis induced by COVID-19 the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, have already invested in green underscores the importance of Caribbean economies have the technology, that financial instruments ECLAC’s proposal for building highest debt ratios in the world, such as the IMF Rapid Credit Facility resilience and reducing debt. ECLAC’s averaging 68.5% of GDP in 2019.