Caribbean multi-country strategic plan (2022–2026)

MCSP approved at the EB February 2022 session

Revision 01 approved by the RD in October 2023

Revision 02 approved by the CD in February 2024

This multi-country strategic plan for the Caribbean for 2022–2026 covers 22 countries and overseas territories, all of which are classified as small island developing States. These Caribbean countries and territories face similar challenges in managing economic, financial, geographic and climate-related vulnerabilities that affect the food and nutrition security of the most vulnerable, particularly in crises. The multi-country approach supports governments through both regional and national initiatives, allowing for more coordinated, targeted approaches and more sustainable outcomes.

Compounded risks due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, persistent economic hardships, climate-related risks and other hazards challenge countries and territories in the Caribbean region, threatening their ability to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17 by 2030.

The socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic continue to be severe for Caribbean countries and territories, already indebted and heavily dependent on external markets for industry and food and other commodities to meet their populations’ needs. Food insecurity in the Caribbean has risen sharply since the onset of the pandemic. As of February 2021, 2.7 million people out of a population of 7.1 million were food-insecure.2 Caribbean countries are also exposed to natural hazards such as hurricanes, storms, floods, droughts and volcanic eruptions. Over the last seven decades, of the 511 disasters that affected small island developing States worldwide, 324 occurred in the Caribbean, with damage to gross domestic product ratio six times higher than that suffered by larger countries.3 Climate-related disasters continue to show signs of increasing frequency and intensity, reversing significant development gains, paralysing national response capacity and threatening progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Caribbean has a regional cooperation framework through the Caribbean Community, which has led to the creation of entities like the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency. A regional approach is an essential component of managing common challenges and working to achieve climate resilience, manage disasters and improve food security, and provides an important entry point for influencing policy and strategy formulation at the national level.

This multi-country strategic plan aligns with the United Nations multi-country sustainable development cooperation framework for the Caribbean for 2022‒2026 so that it can contribute to the achievement of regional and national priorities. By supporting preparedness measures that strengthen disaster risk management and social protection systems, WFP will ensure that vulnerable people across the Caribbean can meet their food, nutrition and other essential needs in times of crisis. Areas in which WFP will work to that end include strengthening end-to-end supply chain management and coordination, vulnerability analysis, data management and digitalization, disaster risk financing and food systems’ resilience. This multi-country strategic plan will contribute to ensuring that Caribbean people, communities and institutions have enhanced adaptive capacity for inclusive, gender-responsive climate and disaster risk management.

The multi-country strategic plan expands on the Caribbean interim multi-country strategic plan for 2020‒2021 by fine-tuning its approach to capacity strengthening, putting measures in place to enhance the sustainability of preparedness actions and strengthening regional and national capacity to respond to disasters without external assistance. WFP continues to deepen relationships with national governments and explore emerging opportunities to bridge the humanitarian-development-peace divide and develop innovative solutions to Caribbean challenges through partnerships with United Nations agencies, regional institutions, international financial institutions and other entities.

Note: The 22 countries and territories covered by this MCSP are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas (the), Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.