Guyana to benefit from US$40M CDB funding for poverty reduction

GUYANA - The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has announced US$40M million in funding for poverty reduction in eight countries in the Caribbean Region, through the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF). The resources, according to a statement from the bank yesterday, will support improved access to quality education; water and sanitation; basic community access and drainage; livelihoods enhancement and human resource development services in low-income and vulnerable communities under the ninth phase of BNTF (BNTF 9).

BNTF has been building schools and involved in a number of other projects in Guyana. Countries that will also benefit include Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname. “The participating countries share many common characteristics and face a number of challenges inherent to small, open economies. BNTF 9 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, CDB. Initiatives under BNTF 9 will be implemented during the period March 2017 to December 2020. Governments of the eight participating countries will provide total counterpart funding of US$6.04M. BNTF said it 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.

The program 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.

(kaieteurnews.com)