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CARICOM At 47 - July 6, 2020
CARICOM Day 2020 – Message from Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque.“CARICOM Day 2020 is like no other in our history. We celebrate today in an environment dominated by the continuing health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Let me, at the outset, extend my deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones; and I wish a speedy recovery to those afflicted by the disease...
This is a time that is testing us as a people. We have done relatively well in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, we have demonstrated that capacity for resilience, which has been the hallmark of our response to the numerous challenges we have faced over time.
CARICOM - Challenges of 2020
"Outgoing Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, has expressed profound gratitude to the organisation and
institutions that have steered the Community through the unprecedented challenges posed so far by the year 2020.Prime Minister Mottley said when she assumed chairmanship at the behest of the President of Suriname, His Excellency Desiré Bouterse due to provisions of elections in Suriname, it was never anticipated that the year would have been so "distinctive" not only in terms of the "roundness of its number" but more significantly, "fullness of its challenges."
9th Annual Back-to-School Drive
"Our Annual Back-To-School drive supports the United Nations Sustainable Goal 4: Quality Education."
The Caribbean American Heritage Foundation of Texas (CAHFT) celebrate its Ninth (9th) Annual Back-To-School Drive, benefiting underserved, economically disadvantaged students in the Caribbean and in particular, the island-nation of Saint Lucia. Our partner in the first years of the School Drive in Saint Lucia was the then Soufriere Public Library Librarian Ms. Catherine Prospere (retired, 2018); she and her staff have held annual hand-over ceremonies at the Library, insuring that the students received our donation of school supplies.
Our Annual Back-To-School drive supports the United Nations Sustainable Goal 4: Quality Education - "Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people's lives and sustainable development. Major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrolment rates in schools particularly for women and girls." Over the last 4 years alone, CAHFT donated a combined total of over 10,000 school supplies items including notebooks, backpacks, pens, pencils and erasers to assist students in school both in Saint Lucia and in the Caribbean islands.
As we embark on our Ninth Annual Back-To-School Drive, it is our hope to raise funding to double our efforts: we endeavor to send over 20,000 school supplies items to the Caribbean for the 2018-2019 school year. But we need your help. Will you consider donating to our Eighth Annual Back-To-School campaign? A donation of as little as $25 can purchase up to 50 composition notebooks.
Click Here to donate to our 9th Annual Back-To-School Drive.
World Bank Response to COVID-19 in the Caribbean
The World Bank’s focus on a cross-cutting approach for building resilience in the Caribbean is more important now than ever.
The World Bank’s focus on a cross-cutting approach for building resilience in the Caribbean is more important now than ever. We are working with member countries in the Caribbean to help them respond to COVID-19 and prepare for a sustainable economic recovery. This page will be updated periodically. For more information on our response in Haiti, visit this page.
The World Bank is bringing financing and knowledge support to help countries address the health threat and the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Financing for immediate health response comes from the global COVID-19 Fast-Track Facility, by triggering contingent financing mechanisms like Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Options (CAT DDOs), and by quickly and flexibly reallocating existing project resources to support COVID-19 response.
Initial support has focused primarily on the health impact of the crisis. The World Bank has helped countries procure essential supplies to detect, contain, and treat COVID-19, strengthen health systems, and expand social protection for vulnerable groups.
The World Bank is now moving to its next phase of support, helping countries address the social, economic, and financial impacts of the crisis and prepare for a resilient and sustainable recovery.
Financing for COVID-19 response has been provided in the following countries: Dominica, Dominican Republica, Grenada, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Preparation of support for Belize and Trinidad and Tobago is well advanced.
Click Here to read the full report.