Wouldn’t Caribbean governments better serve their constituents...

The Facility does not obviate the need for Caribbean governments to set up a National Disaster Fund. Those funds will be useful in recovery efforts in more frequent events ― flash floods, tropical storms, heavy rainfall ― which do not cause catastrophic loss, but do impact on the smooth and effective operation of a country. One of the main issues Caribbean governments must contend with is properly budgeting for each fiscal year; natural disasters, which are inevitable, must be properly planned for if economic targets such as GDP growth are to be met. Saving US$100M in a fund to cover disasters is near impossible for many Caribbean governments considering the pressure many face to provide social goods to citizens. CCRIF, therefore, represents a cost-effective way to provide immediate liquidity to begin recovery efforts for an individual government after a catastrophe until donations and pledged support become available. For the lowest possible premium cost, governments have almost immediate access to a large quantum of liquidity from CCRIF when large events overwhelm even the largest disaster funds.