Caribbean: Strengthening Capacity in Post Disaster Needs Assessment

Context and Objectives 
The project’s objective were to:

• Support countries in the Caribbean, and more specifically in the Eastern Caribbean, to systematically account for disaster loss;
• To use this information to strengthen public investments in disaster risk reduction;
• To strengthen post disaster recovery strategies.

Main Activities and results

The main activities of this project were:

• The development of the institutional capacity for damage assessment and recovery planning;
• Strengthening of the institutional capacity for disaster impact assessment processes;
• Development and implementation of recovery strategies in the seven countries:
  • Conducting regional post disaster needs assessment (PDNA) workshop for English speaking Caribbean countries based on the adapted damage and loss assessment methodology (Caribbean ECLAC Office) and the UNDP Early Recovery framework;
  • Building PDNA capacity in 7 countries;
  • Building capacity of regional institutions for PDNA training
  • Developing/adapting a modular PDNA course for its integration into the established disaster risk reduction (DRR) curriculum and also for stand-alone distance/internet-based delivery

The grant has supported the advancement of a regional dialogue between countries and development partners on the streamlining of the damage assessment process and supporting training in the use of the new system. Four training sessions were provided which sought to:

• Review PDNA capacity in seven countries: St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda;
• Train national participants in PDNA and the associated methodologies;
• Develop a mechanism for continued regional capacity development in PDNA.

Partnerships and Coordination

The UNDP and the World Bank team continuously updated the EU representatives as critical milestones were met during the course of the grant implementation.