BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) — The St Kitts and Nevis government has underscored the importance of being prepared for uncertainties posed by climate change as it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an international humanitarian organisation.

“We don’t fully understand what will happen with the rising temperature and with climate change. We have some ideas of what could happen, and the ideas, they speak to a bad future with respect to disasters and climate change,” Prime Minister Terrance Drew said at the signing of the agreement with Global Support and Development (GSD).

“But with all of that said, there’s always hope. And the hope lies in organisations like GSD, an organisation whose mandate it is to work with countries like us and regions like us so that we can be prepared for the uncertainties,” Drew added.

The agreement, which involves the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), formalises a partnership between the Twin Island Federation and GSD, the international non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening national and regional disaster management systems.

The authorities said that through this collaboration, GSD will work alongside local agencies and civil society groups to improve disaster readiness, response coordination and long-term resilience.

GSD has already made tangible contributions to the federation’s disaster management efforts. Most recently, GSD supported NEMA in outfitting community centres with base radios and providing handheld radios for community volunteers, significantly strengthening communication during disaster response.

In addition, GSD assisted in the procurement of computers and related equipment, further enhancing NEMA’s capacity to coordinate preparedness and response operations.

GSD’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Court, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting national systems and working in partnership with local institutions.

“At GSD, our goal is very simple: to rapidly respond when disasters strike, in support of national response systems, and to strengthen those same systems outside of crisis, so that they can successfully coordinate, respond and meet the needs of their communities.

“Our aim is always to complement existing systems, not to compete with them,” Court said, noting also the importance of this partnership, recalling that the federation was among the first countries where GSD shared its vision for regional collaboration.

A government statement said that the signing of the MOU underscores the government’s commitment to safeguarding the people of St Kitts and Nevis through stronger disaster risk management and resilience-building strategies.

“The collaboration will see GSD providing technical expertise, rapid response support and long-term capacity development, including the use of its humanitarian vessel, MV Dawn, to assist in times of crisis,” it added.