CDB gives US$40m for poverty reduction in eight countries
JAMAICA IS among eight countries set to benefit from a US$40-million funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for poverty reduction in the Caribbean region, through the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF).
Countries that will also benefit are Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.
The resources will support improved access to quality education, water and sanitation, basic community access and drainage, and also include livelihood enhancement and human resource development services in low-income and vulnerable communities under the ninth phase of the fund.
“The participating countries share many common characteristics and face a number of challenges inherent to small, open economies. The BNTF will respond to the development needs of these countries, which face challenges associated with limited diversity in production and extreme vulnerability to natural hazards, which is now exacerbated by climate change and other external shocks,” said Daniel Best, director of projects at the CDB.
IMPACTING OVER THREE MILLION
Initiatives under BNTF 9 will be implemented during the period March 2017 through to December 2020. Governments of the eight participating countries will provide total counterpart funding of US$6.04 million.
“The Basic Needs Trust Fund has implemented more than 2,750 sub-projects over the past 37 years, directly impacting the lives of more than three million beneficiaries in poor communities,” Best said.
The programme is CDB’s main vehicle for
tackling poverty in the region, through the provision of basic infrastructure and skills training towards improving the livelihoods of beneficiaries in participating countries.
Projects under the programme are implemented through grant financing from the bank’s Special Development Fund and is aligned with the CDB’s objective of poverty reduction through inclusive and sustainable economic growth, as articulated in the bank’s Strategic Plan 2015-2019.
The Basic Needs Trust Fund has implemented more than 2,750 sub-projects over the past 37 years, directly impacting the lives of more than three million beneficiaries in poor communities.