Antigua and Barbuda Signs Five-Year Disaster Resilience Roadmap as CDEMA Chief Calls for Proactive Regional Action

Antigua and Barbuda has formalised its disaster management strategy for the next five years, signing a Country Work Programme that the Caribbean’s leading disaster agency has described as a visionary framework for protecting the lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure of the twin-island nation from an increasingly dangerous risk landscape.

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Elizabeth Riley made the remarks at the signing of the country’s Country Work Programme, attended by senior government officials and regional partners. Riley described the programme as far more than an operational plan, calling it the national strategic framework for advancing comprehensive disaster management across every sector of society.

“It reflects a clear national vision and commitment to protecting lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and development gains from the impacts of natural and man-induced hazards,” she said.

A Risk Landscape That Keeps Evolving

Riley warned that the risk landscape facing Caribbean nations continued to evolve, pointing to recent hurricanes, earthquakes, sargassum proliferation, and oil spills as reminders that climate change demanded a proactive and coordinated approach. She said building resilience in such an environment required more than short-term measures — it called for strategic, medium to long-term planning, informed decision-making, and the collective effort of government, communities, the private sector, civil society, academia, and development partners.

A Whole-of-Government Approach

The CDEMA head said she was particularly pleased that the programme had been developed through a whole-of-government approach, helping to ensure national ownership and positioning disaster risk management as a shared responsibility. She noted that the framework aligns the country’s priorities with the Regional Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy 2014 to 2030 and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 to 2030, strengthening the link between national action and wider regional and global goals.

The programme was developed with funding provided by CDEMA under the Building Resilience of CARIFORUM States project, with support from the European Union. Riley extended appreciation to the European Union for its continued partnership and confirmed she had raised the programme with Cabinet, securing assurances of full support for its implementation.

A Nation That Has Sheltered Its Neighbours

NODS Deputy Director Craig Cole said the twin-island state had long supported displaced persons at home and across the region, recalling that thousands had been received from Montserrat, Barbuda, Dominica, and other territories over the decades. He said the programme would help coordinate efforts, mobilise resources, and monitor progress towards the country’s resilience objectives.

A Purpose-Built Emergency Shelter in the Pipeline

One of the most tangible announcements to emerge from the signing ceremony was the presentation of plans for a purpose-built emergency shelter — a facility that would fundamentally change how Antigua and Barbuda houses its most vulnerable citizens during disasters.

Architect Colin John Jenkins outlined a leaf-inspired design with a capacity of around 500 persons, built to withstand a category five hurricane and to operate off-grid. The shelter forms part of a Cabinet mandate to move away from relying on schools and churches during disasters.

Who Was Present

Minister of State within the Ministry of Social and Urban Transformation Kiz Johnson attended the signing along with Permanent Secretary Sarah Stuart and NODS Deputy Director Craig Cole. Also present were European Union representative Virginie Andre and CARIFORUM Director General Alexis Downes-Amsterdam.

The signing of the Country Work Programme comes as the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season gets underway and El Niño conditions establish themselves in the Pacific — a combination that makes Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to five-year, whole-of-government disaster planning not just timely, but essential.