The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), through its CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit, is overseeing the mobilisation of much needed resources to St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).
To date, aid in support of the humanitarian effort has reached US$400,000, as development partners, including USAID, the Government of Romania, the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office and Global Affairs Canada, have come to the island’s assistance.
This was revealed by Executive Director of CDEMA, Elizabeth Riley, during a virtual press conference this morning.
Ms. Riley said the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit, which was coordinated through the Regional Security System, would provide support and relief management operations at the national level, mainly at the sea port.
She explained that a quantity of items, including equipment to support the supply of water, such as jerry cans, collapsible water bladders, dignity and wash kits were deployed to SVG, as part of the response effort.
In addition, she said, over 1,000 military cots from sub-regional warehouses and donations by the Barbados Defence Force and CARICOM IMPACS, and a large quantity of bottled water were also mobilised for the volcano-affected country.
“The process is ongoing. We are doing the tallying as the information is coming in quickly. I hope to have statistics on what has reached the country within another day or so,” she said, noting that a needs list was also being compiled.
The Executive Director added that financial resources were also being encouraged by the St. Vincent Government, as they were making every effort to ensure that the supply chain to the country was not broken.