The country’s aim is to ensure there are enough dedicated resources for recovery after extreme events, the minister Nigel Clarke told an annual economic forum in New Kingston on Thursday last week.  

The policy will be presented to Jamaica’s parliament and the cabinet for consultation and approval, he explained.

He wanted to “ensure that we have consensus [through a national approach] because natural disasters affect us all”.

Jamaica and other Caribbean countries are vulnerable to natural disasters, which can overwhelm public resources and set countries back “for years”, he said.

The minister claimed that with the country’s Public Financial Management for Disaster Risk Policy and Framework, “we can build on top of, within the scope of our fiscal resources, the products that can help us to alleviate the impact of natural disasters”.