WASHINGTON, DC, United States (CMC) — The World Bank Group’s annual meetings with Caribbean and other global finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ended here on Saturday with the issuance of the Development Committee communiqué calling for action on climate change, among other challenges.

“We highlight the need for action to address challenges — climate change, migration and forced displacement, global health, as well as fragility, conflict and violence (FCV) — that threaten all countries,” the communiqué stated.

“We applaud platforms, such as the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, the Global Concessional Financing Facility and the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, as examples of WBG [World Bank Group] leadership in helping countries apply solutions at national, regional and global levels.

“We note the ambition set out in the WBG (World Bank Group) Climate Change Action Plan,” it adds. “We recognise that small states are disproportionately affected by disaster risks and note the continued importance of facilitating their access to finance.”

The communiqué notes that recent human losses and economic shocks caused by natural disasters, famine, conflict and displacement “demonstrate that hard-earned economic and social gains can easily be lost,” stating that the need for fiscal adjustment also poses challenges in many economies, especially in highly indebted countries.

“We call on the WBG and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to remain alert to the risk of debt distress amid the cyclical and structural headwinds that confront many developing economies [including the Caribbean],” it says. “Their continued assistance is critical to countries’ efforts to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth, enhance human capital, and strengthen resilience.”

The communiqué says while global growth has improved over the past year — with a recovery in investment, trade and commodity prices, as well as supportive global financial conditions — risks to the global outlook “remain skewed to the downside, and prospects for growth vary widely across countries.”

“While there has been encouraging progress in poverty reduction globally, high rates of inequality persist within and among countries, and stubborn pockets of poverty remain,” it says. “Complex, interlinked challenges also risk rolling back the important gains of recent decades in an increasingly interconnected global economy.”

The statement says the urgency and scale of today’s risks to development require national and global coordinated action to achieve “robust, sustainable, and inclusive development outcomes,” noting that the WBG is “an effective and accountable leader in the global development arena, and we acknowledge its strong track record of supporting countries’ long-term development ambitions.”

To promote sustainable and inclusive growth, the communiqué urges enhanced coordination and partnership across multilateral development banks (MDBs) and other international financial institutions (IFIs) to help leverage the financing required to create jobs and build healthy economies.

“We are encouraged by WBG efforts to maximize finance for development, including through the Cascade approach, which is intended to ensure that public and private investments are complementary,” it says. “We ask the WBG to help countries maximize their development resources by drawing appropriately on private sector solutions to achieve the WBG’s twin goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Leaders and representatives of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries and territories, and international partners, including the international financial institutions, and the representatives of territories in the region, convened on Friday in a high-level roundtable on recovery and resilience in the Caribbean, hosted by the WBG, as part of the WBG-IMF Annual Meetings.

The World Bank said during the discussion, participants examined the impact of and recovery from the destructive hurricanes that struck the Caribbean in September, reviewed the instruments available for disaster risk management and response, and considered the need to innovate further in order to address the long-term challenges and strengthen resilience of affected islands.

Participants expressed solidarity and support to the affected islands and communities, and reaffirmed their commitment to working together to build back better and in a more resilient way, following the devastation caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria, the World Bank said.

It said delegates highlighted the need to ensure active engagement of communities, especially women, in the recovery and reconstruction process, as well as the importance of putting in place building standards that will mitigate the impact of future extreme weather events.

The participants also noted the importance of making progress on the World Bank’s Small States Roadmap, which proposes various initiatives to promote resilience of small states.

Additionally, the World Bank said participants underscored the need for a response involving all partners, including regional organizations, development partners, private sector, national Governments and civil society, “to leverage comparative advantages for building resilience to disasters in highly vulnerable small-island states, as extreme weather events have added to their existing economic vulnerabilities.

“The contribution of the private sector will also be critical, offering both resources and expertise,” the World Bank said.

While the damage and recovery needs assessment is ongoing, the Washington-based financial institution said “early estimates point to extremely high economic, infrastructure and livelihood impacts of the two hurricanes across many of the affected islands,” stating that more than two million people were affected, with near total damage in the worst affected areas.