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The Hummingbird - May 2022 [vol.9, n.5]
ECLAC Caribbean, in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social affairs (UN DESA), recently supported Belize, in the form of a national consultation. It took the form of discussions with stakeholders on the progress in formulating and implementing sustainable recovery plans in Belize.
The two organizations also facilitated the sharing of ideas and made concrete recommendations on building back better, and accelerating the implementation of the country’s national plans and advancing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Some of these recommendations included rethinking/reassessing/reexamining agriculture and food security policy; investing in comprehensive disaster risk management, disaster risk financing and financial protection; creating shock responsive social protection systems; and ways to make the education sector more effective.
The national consultation was Phase 2 of the UN DESA and ECLAC cooperation with Belize, and is meant to strengthen the integrated recovery planning and decision-making capacity of the national stakeholders in Belize. Phase 1 was the provision of advisory support to Belize, with focus on researching the COVID-19 pandemic, its impacts and evaluating the progress in recovery planning measures and methodologies in the Caribbean in general, and in Belize. Similar consultations are being supported in other participating Caribbean States involved in mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and building back better.
Participating in the consultation were representatives of Government, Central Statistical Offices (CSOs), academia, indigenous peoples, and private sector personnel. The common factor of these participants is that they are all engaged in national development planning and other COVID-19 recovery plans, and UN mandates. The recent consultation also included the UN Country Team in Belize, and UN System partners.
