News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Nov. 22, 2017: Guess how much cash the European Union has pledged to the hurricane ravaged Caribbean region?
At a high-level donor conference for the Caribbean at the UN headquarters in NYC earlier this week, the EU’s Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, pledged a substantial €300 million development support package to the Caribbean region.
Of the total amount, about a third will be new grant resources for the countries of the region. Some of the funds will be used to cover humanitarian gaps in Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, and Cuba, the majority will provide support for medium-term reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts at national level in Antigua and Barbuda, in Dominica, in St Kitts and Nevis, in Cuba and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs).
At regional level, the EU’s assistance will help to build longer term resilience by increasing the region’s disaster preparedness as well as its ability to adapt to climate change.
The pledging conference at UN Headquarters in New York, was co-organized by the UN and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which is a regional grouping of 20 countries.