There is a growing call for increased support to safeguard vulnerable states, particularly in the Caribbean region.

Over 50 Caribbean organisations have written to US President Joe Biden and his treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, urging them to support the region facing debt and climate crises. The groups, led by the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), are asking for a significant allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), debt relief, an end to IMF surcharges, and funding for climate-related losses and damages.

The regional organisations say these actions are necessary to help the Caribbean during the current period of economic vulnerability and increasing climate disasters. “The Caribbean is one of the most indebted regions in the world,” the group said in a collective letter reported by the Dominica News Online.

They say “total debt has risen to 74 per cent of the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with debt in countries including Barbados, Suriname, Belize and Jamaica surpassing 100 per cent of GDP. Latin America and the Caribbean collectively spend almost 10 times more on debt payments than healthcare and 30 times more on climate adaptation”.

The letter underscored the severe impact of the simultaneous challenges of rising debt burdens and climate change in our region. It emphasises that as essential resources are diverted to manage increasing debts, there is limited capacity left to adequately prepare Caribbean nations for the ongoing and relentless threat posed by climate catastrophes.

Moreover, Caribbean nations have consistently emphasised the importance of establishing a fund to address loss and damage. Despite verbal support from the US for this fund, it currently lacks adequate funding.

They contend that this situation could potentially be transformed through active US leadership and financial contributions.