WASHINGTON DC, United States (JIS) — Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw is calling on multilateral agencies to provide a combination of grant funding and concessional loans to assist Caribbean islands severely affected by the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Shaw made the call as he addressed the Caribbean and International Partners Action Dialogue on Hurricanes (CIPADH), held at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington DC on Friday.

Grenada’s Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and Sir Richard Branson convened the event. Delegations from the Caribbean and multilateral agencies were also in attendance.

The finance minister emphasised that the events that occurred in certain Caribbean countries were unprecedented. 

“The devastation has greatly impacted people’s lives and we need to act swiftly to address the needs,” Shaw said.

Meanwhile, Shaw commended the World Bank for the swift payout under the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility.

He also highlighted the need “for us to review the insurance scheme, to see how it can be significantly enhanced for emergencies like these.”

The facility affords insurance coverage safeguards against tropical cyclones, earthquakes and excess rainfall.

Sixteen Caribbean governments are currently members of the facility: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos Islands.