Regional progress and challenges (Level 1

Executive summary

The 2020 Development Effectiveness Review (DER) is a comprehensive report on the first-year operational achievements and progress in relation to the results monitoring framework (RMF) of the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The 2020 DER covers a period when the entire world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to trigger massive economic, financial and social fallout across the globe, including the Caribbean Region. This makes the 2020 DER more critical than ever before.

The DER is organised around a four-level structure, consistent with the Bank’s corporate RMF. It assesses the development trends, progress, and challenges across CDB’s 19 Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs), particularly in areas connected to the Bank’s strategic objectives, corporate priorities, and cross-cutting areas (Level 1). It measures the results that BMCs achieved with CDB’s support vis-à-vis targets outlined in the RMF and identifies areas in which the Bank can strengthen performance (Level 2). Furthermore, the document measures progress on strengthening its lending and non-lending operations and reforming business processes and internal systems, in order to reposition the Bank to deliver better on its mandate and enhance development outcomes and results (Levels 3 and 4).

Regional progress and challenges (Level 1)

The Caribbean Region made significant progress in increasing access to basic social services, particularly in education. Most countries achieved near universal access to primary education, recording net enrolment ratios of over 90% for both males and females. Notwithstanding, improvements in overall academic performance remain nominal regarding the proportion of both female and male secondary school graduates achieving five or more subject passes in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) general proficiency examinations, or the equivalent national assessment. Females continue to achieve better results than do males, a trend which occurs within primary education and persists throughout basic education.

The regional focus continues to prioritise inclusive measures to enhance the quality and relevance of education to improve the achievement of educational outcomes for all learners, as well as enhance employability. Policy attention continues to be placed on equitable access to high-quality education, expanding relevant skills development, and leveraging information and communications technologies (ICTs) to support inclusive teaching and learning. This is even more applicable in the context of the pandemic and the significant impact it had on learning continuity and loss of learning, as schools were closed as part of the mitigation measures. Across BMCs, the deployment and mass use of ICTs for teaching and learning were limited by institutional deficits in the ICT infrastructure and human resource capacity and an undeveloped enabling environment, especially in socio-economic disadvantaged homes and communities.

Notwithstanding the higher female academic performance at the secondary level, gender disparities in school-to-work transition still exist. Youth unemployment continue to be substantially higher than that of adults, with females more affected than males. Factors contributing to the high levels of unemployment, in particular youth, include sluggish economic growth, low education levels and absorption rate in the labour market.

The pandemic exposed, and is expected to widen, existing social and economic inequalities within and across BMCs, with children, women, poor, elderly and people living with disabilities disproportionately affected. This could threaten socio-economic outcomes and adversely affect human development, as well as erode the gains made from previous interventions. BMCs’ strategic policies to mitigate fallout in areas, such as education, health, and employment, will be critical to maintaining progress, addressing vulnerabilities and

The regional focus continues to prioritise inclusive measures to enhance the quality and relevance of education to improve the achievement of educational outcomes for all learners, as well as enhance employability.