The leadership of key public agencies met at the Radisson Hotel Grenada in November 2025, to discuss and agree on housing guidelines for the updating of the National Disaster Management Plan.
The guidelines were developed following a few weeks of review of pertinent documentation, including the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (2024), the National Disaster Plan (2011) and the provisions of several pieces of legislation including the Physical Planning and Development Control Act (Cap 241A) and Disaster Management Act (2023) along with one-on-one engagements with agencies involved in the Housing Sector.
This effort forms part of Enabling Gender-Responsive Disaster Recovery, Climate, and Environmental Resilience in the Caribbean (EnGenDER) project implemented by UNDP in collaboration with CDEMA and funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The activity is coordinated by the Ministry of Economic Development, Planning and Cooperatives in partnership with NaDMA, the Ministry of Social and Community Development, Housing and Gender Affairs, the Ministry of Carriacou and Petit Martinique Affairs and Local Government, and the Central Statistical Office.
The exercise was led by consultant Dr Grenville Phillips, a civil and structural engineer well known in the Caribbean region for training in Construction Quality Assurance and Building Codes, including the Caricom Code of Practice for Residential Construction. Dr Phillips also formed part of the Rapid Needs Assessment (RNAT) Team coordinated by CDEMA following Hurricane Beryl.
The team comprising UNDP, CDEMA and the consultants also held meetings in Carriacou to validate a Housing Recovery Plan informed by the collection of primary information on housing damage conditions and impact on households.
Elizabeth Charles-Soomer, Cluster Lead for Prevention, Resilience and Recovery, UNDP MCO for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean reported that she was satisfied with the level of the discussion and the participation of the leads of the Planning and Development Authority, The Housing Authority, The Ministry of Mobilisation, Implementation and Transformation and the NADMA, a sentiment echoed by Permanent Secretary (PS) Merina Jessamy from the Ministry of Economic Development.
PS Jessamy thanked the participants for their contributions and highlighted the need for recovery and restoration to be a collaborative effort involving the whole of government.
Ministry of Economic Development, Planning and Cooperatives
