Cole Bay, Sint Maarten, Friday April 17, 2020 – The European Union and Expertise France have approved a special fast-tracked €10 million COVID-19 mechanism to support the Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) in managing and responding to the impact of the Novel Coronavirus.
The RESEMBID COVID-19 Resilience Response Facility has been established against the backdrop of overwhelmed public health systems across the OCTs and deepening social and economic crises in most Territories. It is funded under the 11th European Development Fund as a component of the RESEMBID Programme (Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity).
According to RESEMBID Programme Director Fabian McKinnon, the Facility was designed as “a purpose-designed, fast-track, flexible response tool for the OCTs to confront the multiple challenges of responding to the pandemic.”
The twelve participating OCTs are Anguilla, Aruba, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, and Turks and Caicos Islands.