Preparedness in the Caribbean
The World Food Programme (WFP), as the global lead of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), is strengthening ETC preparedness efforts across the Caribbean. The WFP Multi-Country Office (MCO) for the Caribbean —headquartered in Bridgetown, Barbados—has been operational since 2018. However, ETC’s involvement in the region dates back further, with an activation in 2010 for the Haiti earthquake, support to post-Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas (2019), and later 2017 response in Dominica following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. These experiences underscored the broader need to address challenges through enhanced regional collaboration. Over recent years, several capacity-building initiatives have supported technical training efforts, aimed at stengthening both national and regional capabilities. In line with MCO’s strategic priority, to was established to enhance WFP’s support for Caribbean nations in disaster preparedness, emergency response, and resilience-building, ETC as a cluster lead is enacting its regional preparedness support in the area of emergency telecommunications, with a focus on aiding communities impacted by hurricanes and other climate-related crises.
The MCO serves 22 Caribbean countries and territories, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, 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.
This page is dedicated to showcase ETC activities in the Caribbean Region, in collaboration with the WFP MCO. Learn more about ETC Global preparedness here .
PREPAREDNESS RESOURCES
The ETC, in collaboration with its partners, has developed various preparedness resources to strengthen ICT resilience and emergency response capabilities in the region, including:
- ITU-ETC Emergency Telecommunications Preparedness Checklist
- ITU-ETC Emergency Telecommunications Table-top Simulation Guide
- ETC Country Preparedness and Resilience Delivery Model
- Return on Investment (ROI) Model
- ETC Country Preparedness Module
REGIONAL PREPAREDNESS WORKSHOP
In October 2024, the ETC, in partnership with the ITU, hosted a Regional Preparedness Workshop, convening 49 participants to reinforce coordination and ICT emergency response across the Caribbean. Key topics included an After-Action Review of Hurricane Beryl (2024), the development of National Emergency Telecommunications Plans (NETP), creation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for information flow, implementation of diverse connectivity solutions in disaster contexts, and the promotion of early warning systems. This workshop marks the beginning of an annual engagement series dedicated to regional preparedness.
CARIBBEAN COUNTRY PRIORITIZATION RATING
ETC's CPA indicates the risk landscape per country, helping to guide ETC engagements. The following are the indexes available for the Caribbean region:
