46 technocrats from the Public and Private Sectors Graduate from CCRIF/UWI Postgraduate Training Programme in Disaster Risk Financing and CCRIF Parametric Insurance
46 technocrats from 15 Caribbean countries completed the CCRIF/UWI course offered through UWI Global Campus during September 2024 – January 2025. This year, participants included representatives of electric and water utilities – in addition to government officials in areas related to finance, disaster risk management, and environmental management. At the end of this 45-hour postgraduate course, these professionals received a UWI/CCRIF certificate and 4 continuing education units. Since 2020, when the course was first launched, over 110 persons have successfully completed the course. The next offering of this course is planned to start in the last quarter of 2025.
Social Development Officers and World Food Programme Officials Learn about CCRIF, Parametric Insurance and Using Parametric Insurance to Make Social Protection Systems More Shock Responsive
In February 2025, 45 Social Development Officers and World Food Programme (WFP) officials from the Caribbean and Central America participated in a workshop to
increase their knowledge of parametric insurance and how parametric insurance can be used to make social protection systems more responsive – by expanding both horizontally and vertically when a country is negatively impacted by an exogenous shock such as a hurricane. This training was important as WFP has been supporting countries to increase their coverage by providing a “top-up” on their tropical cyclone and/or excess rainfall policies purchased through CCRIF. In so doing, if there is a payout, the social development ministries will receive the portion of the payout attributable to the top up and this can be used to provide cash transfers and additional support to the most vulnerable in their populations or to those that are usually outside of the social protection system but due to the event, need financial help. Understanding the details can help the social development ministries, finance ministries and WFP to develop effective mechanisms for using the top-up.
Caribbean Leaders Explore Integrated/Sovereign Risk Management and All Hazards Risk Policy Frameworks
Approximately 20 Permanent Secretaries and other Senior Officers from across the Caribbean explored integrated risk management in a webinar delivered by CCRIF as part of the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD)’s Transformational Leadership Development programme. Participants discussed how parametric insurance can be used to expand countries’ social protection systems; examined their national risks within the multi-hazard environment; and were introduced to sovereign risk management. This enabled them to look at the development of national risk maps as a first step in risk identification.
