BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley has welcomed the launch of the Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub and Centre of Excellence, saying it will significantly strengthen the region’s ability to respond quickly to disasters and humanitarian crises.

Mottley told a ceremony at the Grantley Adams International Airport that Barbados is an ideal location for the hub given that it “is the most easterly, [therefore] a judgment was made that this is probably the safest place.

“If you have to wait for stuff to come from Panama, that’s 1 200 miles away. If you have to bring stuff from Miami, 1 500 miles away,” she said, noting that the primary function would be to get food, medicine and critical supplies to affected populations within the first 48 to 72 hours after a major emergency.

“This hub is about saving lives. Let’s be very, very clear,” she said at the ceremony on Monday, attended by representatives from the diplomatic corps, regional agencies and international development partners.

“It is not just limited to emergency responses for disasters. It is also going to be for humanitarian crises,” Mottley said, noting the “utterly devastating situation in Haiti” where “almost half the population is deemed to be suffering from food insecurity”.

The hub is equipped with 2 500 square metres of storage space, 1 300 pallet positions, and temperature-controlled cold storage. It was developed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in partnership with the Barbados government with funding support from Canada, the European Union, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

WFP’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Lola Castro, said the launch was a critical step in improving emergency response in a region vulnerable to multiple hazards.

“Having seen how devastating hurricanes and other hazards can be in the Caribbean, we are proud to have this Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub in place. WFP works with partners in the region and globally to enhance national response mechanisms to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster response in order to save lives,” she said.

The executive director of the Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Elizabeth Riley, described the hub as the realisation of a long-standing vision that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This transformative initiative marks a critical advancement in the region’s capacity to respond swiftly and effectively to emergencies through the Regional Response Mechanism,” Riley said, noting that CDEMA activations have surged, from two between 2000 and 2009 to eight in the last five years alone, with 84 per cent triggered by climate-related hazards.

She added that the Centre of Excellence housed within the facility will play a key role in building the capacity of disaster responders across the region through training, simulation, and shared practice.