UNDP Resident Representative & Deputy to strengthen crisis resilience talks with TCI Government on mission, 20 – 22 June

#Providenciales, June 19, 2018 – Turks and Caicos – Bruno Pouezat, the United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative assigned to Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, Bermuda, The Bahamas and Cayman Islands will visit TCI over the period 20 – 22 June to strengthen crisis and disaster resilience support to the TCI and to visit beneficiaries of the ongoing disaster recovery projects supported by UNDP.

Mr Pouezat, will be accompanied by the office’s Deputy Resident Representative, Dr Elsie Laurence Chounoune as well as Programme Analyst – Capacity Development, Ava Whyte Anderson, at the beginning of what is expected to be a busy hurricane season.

The UNDP delegation is scheduled to meet with TCI Premiere, the Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson and other officials to provide updates on a number of ongoing, UNDP-supported hurricane recovery projects in TCI, including hurricane recovery grants to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), disaster risk resilience training for the sector and the cash for work programme that ended in February.  The delegation will take the opportunity to visit with some grantees at their businesses to hear their stories firsthand and to see how the grants have contributed to their recovery from the last hurricane season.

The UNDP delegation will also discuss the way forward for mobilizing technical and financial resources required to improve TCI’s resilience to natural disasters, especially by mainstreaming disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) into development planning.

Mr Pouezat said he was looking forward to fruitful discussions aimed at improving TCI’s resilience to natural hazards and climate change.  He said laying this foundation of resilience now would be essential for preventing and reducing the impact of future natural hazards, as well as for localizing and achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular those related to Climate Action and Life on Land.

To this end, the UNDP delegation, in response to a request from the government will also present a Rapid Integrated Assessment of the alignment of TCI’s current planning frameworks with the SDG.  This is considered a first step in defining a roadmap for the implement of the SDGs in the TCI.

Only recently, UNDP, in partnership with has partnered with the Centre for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) in TCI disbursed 40 grants valued at a total US$ 40,000 over the period 4-8 May 2018 to MSMEs.  Recognizing the role played by small businesses in the TCI economy and the many small families dependent on the quick recovery of these businesses, UNDP found it prudent to put its support behind recovery assistance to MSMEs, Mr Pouezat has emphasized.

The UNDP country office in Kingston serves Jamaica, Bermuda, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Release: UNDP