Bridgetown, 29 January 2021 - “With the increasing vulnerability of the Caribbean region to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, it has become even more important to have a social protection system in place, capable of being adaptive, adjustable to shocks and which fully integrates disaster risk management in a holistic manner” stated Andrea Cummins, Joint Programme Coordinator of the UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Office, as the organisation, in collaboration with various UN Partners, hosted a virtual session to introduce Disaster Risk Management (DRM) partners to the Core Diagnostic Instrument (CODI) and emphasize the importance of integrating DRM planning in social protection initiatives. The session was part of the “Enhancing Resilience and Acceleration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the Eastern Caribbean: Universal Adaptive Social Protection” joint programme which is facilitating an assessment of the social protection instrument to ensure it aptly integrates disaster risk management and climate change in Barbados – a model that can be extended to the wider Caribbean.

Adding that the project was a step in the right direction to build forward better, Andrew Pollard of the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs (MPEAEA) - the focal Ministry for the Joint Programme - highlighted that 'adaptive social protection is a major social development for the countries of the Caribbean in light of the fact that it gives equal importance to DRM as a critical component, resulting in a robust mechanism to enhance resilience.' In December 2020, the Joint Programme Partners (WFP, UNICEF, UN Women, UNDP and ILO) and the Government of Barbados through the MPEAEA launched a diagnostic of the social protection system in Barbados using the Core Diagnostic Instrument (CODI) tool designed by the Inter-Agency Social Protection Assessments (ISPA). The CODI assessment will map the key elements of the social protection system, analyse social protection system performance and serve as a base to improve and adapt these systems. Because of UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean’s expertise and support to poverty and inequality reduction and integrating gender equality and climate change considerations into programmes, the organisation is supporting the development of a gender-responsive DRM module within the CODI instrument. This support is designed to make social protection more adaptive to disaster risks and climate change and ensure the specific needs of vulnerable women, men, girls and boys in emergencies are met.

This Disaster Risk Management (DRM) module will be developed in partnership with national stakeholders and researchers to identify the risks, the most vulnerable individuals and other instruments. Additionally, the joint Social Protection and Disaster Risk Management diagnostic will allow stakeholders to identify the existing overlaps and specific programmatic options to effectively adapt social protection systems to the needs of beneficiaries. It is also an opportunity to foster meaningful dialogue between DRM and Social Protection stakeholders, that can provide an essential exchange of technical knowledge and skills.  Participating partners included CDEMA, the Department of Emergency Management, CERMES, the Institute of Sustainable Development, the Barbados Meteorological Services, the Coastal Zone Management Unit and the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification.

This Joint Project differs from conventional approaches to advancing social protection in that it addresses the risk and impacts of climate-related and other shocks on people and social protection systems. It links social protection with disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. It is a relatively new approach that requires a diagnostic of the current social protection systems and DRM landscape to identify an appropriate joint-approach.

For more information on the project, interested persons can contact Shani Leacock: shani.leacock@undp.org