Delegación Regional en Santo Domingo
7 de septiembre, 2001
Caribbean Regional Delegates meet in St. Kitts
by: John Humphreys

Promoting humanitarian values in the diverse Caribbean region, and finalising plans for disaster response were top of the agenda when ten delegates and staff from the Federation's Caribbean Regional Delegation met in the island nation of St.Kitts from 24 to 26 August 2001. Reflecting the Federation's international character, seven different nationalities were represented among the participants, whose fields of expertise included health, disaster preparedness, and information management.

The Caribbean, with a total of sixteen Red Cross National Societies as well as several Overseas Branches of the Netherlands and British Red Cross Societies, faces many humanitarian challenges. These include the devastation caused by the annual hurricane season, a growing HIV/AIDS epidemic (the Caribbean has the second highest per capita infection rate in the world, second only to sub-Saharan Africa), and entrenched poverty (a Caribbean nation - Haiti - is the poorest country in the Americas). To confront these realities, the Regional Delegation during the first half of 2001 drafted a Regional Assistance Strategy (RAS) in close collaboration with all Red Cross entities and other stakeholders in the region. This document was unanimously adopted at the Sixth Caribbean Red Cross Biennial Meeting, held in Trinidad in June 2001.

As the St.Kitts meeting took place, Tropical Storm Dean, the fourth named storm of the hurricane season, passed north of the island without causing damage. Immediately after the meeting the next named storm, Erin, brushed past St.Kitts on its way northwestwards. Although the 2001 hurricane season has so far been relatively quiet, forecasters predict major storms in September and October. In past years the Regional Delegation, working with National Societies, has emphasised quick response to hurricane damage. In 1998 Hurricane Georges devastated many Caribbean states, and in November 1999 Hurricane Lenny caused extensive damage on St.Kitts and neighbouring islands. In the last three years the Federation has worked hard in the region to promote Community Based Disaster Preparedness and to strengthen National Society response mechanisms.