BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The High Commission of Canada to Barbados and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) officially handed over a Deployment Package to CDEMA to support its Response Units on May 19, 2021.
The package, worth over CAD$15,000, was funded through the Targeted Support to CDEMA Project and equips teams with backpacks, hats, insulated water bottles and waterproof mobile phone cases.
High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados, Lilian Chatterjee, said: “We are very happy to support CDEMA, a long-term partner for almost 30 years, and this is just one of the outcomes of the Targeted Support to CDEMA Project. I think CDEMA is the perfect example of an agency that walks the walk … and I believe that CDEMA is a jewel and an agency that should be treasured.”
Plans were discussed to address the ongoing recovery process in St Vincent and the Grenadines, where CAD$500,000 will be mobilized through the Targeted Support Project’s Caribbean Early Recovery Fund. On the heels of the 2021 hurricane season, Canada has pledged its full support to CDEMA’s work in the participating States.
Executive Director (ag) of CDEMA Elizabeth Riley expressed her appreciation for the ongoing partnership saying: “Canada has been an excellent partner of CDEMA, and this is a statement from my heart … the first multi-year project that I managed at CDEMA was a Canadian Finance Project and it was a game-changer in what we were able to bring to the table in pushing the resilience conversation. The flexibility of how the government of Canada interfaces with us as an implementation agency has really allowed us to do our jobs that much better.”
Following the devastation of the 2017 hurricane season, Canada pledged CAD$100 million to assist the region with resilience and building back better and the Targeted Support to CDEMA Project is one of the projects emanating from this pledge.
One of the Project’s largest successes has been Integrated Regional Logistics Hub, where over CAD$400,000 was reallocated to support operations, facilitating the delivery of key medical supplies and personal protective equipment to member states to assist in their COVID-19 response. Nine key staff positions are funded by the project, to execute the agency’s mandate and enhance the Regional Response Mechanism.
