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Caribbean Regional
>> Regional Overview >> Caribbean Regional Overview
USAID Search: Caribbean Regional
Previous Years' Activities
2002, 2001, 2000
Last updated: 34
THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE: The small island nations of the Caribbean face special developmental challenges due to their small economies, their dependence on export revenues and tourism as the foundation for growth, their vulnerability to natural disasters, and the growing incidence of HIV/AIDS in the region.
Preliminary figures from the World Tourism Organization and the Caribbean Tourism Organization indicate that, as a result of September 11, tourism arrivals in Caribbean Community countries are 9% lower than 2000 levels. For many years, most Caribbean countries depended on preferential trade arrangements for key commodity exports such as sugar and bananas. With the removal of trade preferences and other trends related to globalization, countries are facing declining export earnings and severe economic hardships. For example, a 2001 World Bank report indicates that Dominica's exports fell by over 30% between 1997 and 2000 due to a sharp retrenchment in the banana industry. The Caribbean region faces significant challenges in gearing up to compete effectively in the world economy, due to its lack of capacity to meet the Free Trade Area of the Americas and World Trade Organization standards and requirements.
The national interests of the United States in the Caribbean region are guided by the 1997 Bridgetown, Barbados Summit accords, which committed the United States and signatory Caribbean nations to implement plans of action that promote free trade and economic development, safeguard the natural environment, and enhance justice and security. For the United States, the Caribbean constitutes our "third border." The U.S. Government has developed a Third Border Initiative (TBI) which is an interagency coordinated package of measures centering around five themes: social and education matters, security and law enforcement, economic and commercial matters, environment, and diplomacy. The goal of TBI is to better align U.S. and Caribbean priorities, to improve the focus of USG assistance and engagement, and to encourage U.S. partners to assume ownership and leadership on common interests. The large number of U.S. citizens of Caribbean origin, the region's proximity to the United States, and its importance as a U.S. tourist destination mean that joblessness, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, drug trafficking, environmental degradation and recurrent natural disasters in the Caribbean directly affect the United States' well-being.
The natural environment, on which the Caribbean relies heavily for economic growth and tourism, is in jeopardy due to poor environmental management practices. There is a growing need to overcome the negative effects of the events of September 11 in the region by improving the viability, visibility, and competitiveness of small tourism enterprises. The high cost of telecommunications constitutes a major barrier to developing electronic commerce in the region. Competitiveness can be increased by expanding knowledge about information technology, and increasing access to financial markets in the region. Small- and medium-sized enterprises have been plagued with numerous problems across industries that severely inhibit their ability to deliver products and services that meet international standards. In virtually all of the Caribbean countries, the judiciary is weak and unable to tackle a growing backlog of civil and commercial legal actions.
The region is further hampered by a labor force that is inadequately trained to meet today's global challenges. Many countries in the region are losing their best and brightest workers through a combination of emigration and the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. HIV seroprevalence in the region is second only to sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimate that more than 500,000 out of approximately 25 million people in the region are infected with HIV.
THE USAID PROGRAM:
FY 2002 Estimate: $ 15.0 million FY 2003 Request: $ 18.75 million The Caribbean Regional Mission, located in Kingston, Jamaica, focuses its program on the island nations of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. However, the Mission also covers the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, and Surinam. This entire group of countries, plus Haiti, Jamaica and Guyana constitute the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The Program Data Sheets below discuss the four programs for which USAID's Caribbean Regional Mission is requesting funds. The programs seek to improve the region's economic competitiveness, strengthen environmental management by private entities, increase the effectiveness and efficiency of legal systems, and enhance the region's ability to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis. FY 2002 funds will help to implement the economic growth, trade capacity assistance, disaster mitigation, and HIV/AIDS components of the Administration's Third Border Initiative. Ongoing programs addressing economic competitiveness, environmental management, rule of law, and HIV/AIDS will also be implemented.
OTHER PROGRAM ELEMENTS: USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance is implementing disaster mitigation activities that seek to reduce risks and losses from natural hazards, educate the public, and establish an effective framework for disaster management. The Regional Sustainable Development Office of the Latin America and Caribbean Bureau (LAC/RSD) is funding capacity-building efforts targeted at Eastern Caribbean governments and regional organizations to strengthen their capacity to implement regional and worldwide trade agreements and related agricultural import customs requirements. LAC/RSD is also funding activities in the Eastern Caribbean that promote human rights education and protection, especially for women and marginalized populations. USAID's Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade Bureau is supporting loan programs targeted at micro- and small enterprises. USAID has also transferred funds to the Peace Corps for a small grant activity which develops collaborative programs with community groups to promote local development.
OTHER DONORS: Donor coordination under the Caribbean Regional program is excellent. The International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Development Program, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the European Union (EU), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the United Kingdom's Division for International Development (DFID) have pooled resources to address the urgent and demanding needs of the region to reform fiscal and monetary policies and systems by establishing the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Center. In the area of HIV/AIDS, USAID, CIDA, Germany, EU, DFID, and the Pan American Health Organization are in partnership to support the Caribbean Epidemiology Center as it implements its HIV/AIDS strategic plan. Major donors complementing other USAID work in the Caribbean include the World Bank, the IDB (telecommunications) and CIDA (judicial reform). The Organization of American States and CIDA support small hotel programs. CIDA and the IDB have programs in trade reform and integration.
Program Data Sheets
- 538-004 Increased employment and diversification in select non-traditional activities
- 538-005 Improved environmental management by public and private entities
- 538-006 Increased Efficiency and Fairness of Legal Systems in the Caribbean
- 538-008 Enhanced Caribbean Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis in Target Countries
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
