WASHINGTON, (CMC) – A study on the state of housing in six Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries has revealed that approximately US$1.8 billion is needed to end poor housing conditions for more than one million citizens.

The study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) looked at the housing problem in The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The study, which analysed the implementation of social housing programmes in the Caribbean from 2000 to 2015, underscores the importance of housing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the larger agenda in poverty alleviation, economic development, and climate resilience.

It noted that rapid urbanisation has created a housing deficit in the Caribbean, prompting a large share of the population to live in informal settlements that are disproportionately affected by landslides, flooding, and storm surges.

The study notes also that the absence of efficiently functioning land markets, inaccurate property registries, and land disputes have compounded the problem and slowed the pace of housing programmes.

“Improving housing conditions in the Caribbean can have large impacts on poverty reduction, improving lives of a significant share of the population,” said Michael G Donovan, IDB senior housing and urban development specialist, one of the authors of the study.

“The IDB and the Caribbean have been working together on several projects to help solve this challenge. However, more needs to be done. With this book, we expect to help the region develop a comprehensive urban agenda so countries can achieve their sustainable development goals.”

The study notes that Caribbean governments need to incorporate into their social housing programmes measures to protect homes against rising sea level because half of the population in the region live within five kilometres from the coastline.

“As the Caribbean urbanises, it will be also critically important to incorporate risk reduction into the location and design of social housing,” said Pauline McHardy, Jamaican urban planner, another author of the report on the study.

According to the report, several housing ministries in the region are adopting new designs to increase the resilience of coastal housing, improving building codes and ensuring that floor levels of social housing are above recorded flood levels. Elevating houses in flood-prone areas saves US$15 for every one US dollar invested because governments do not need to rebuild infrastructure.

Supporting the Caribbean to confront urban challenges and increase economic vitality of cities is central to the bank’s mission in the region.

The IDB said it has provided over US$700 million in long-term financing to support urban programmes in the Caribbean since 1968.