In 2022, we heralded the end of UNDP’s 2017 to 2021 Country Programme with our hopeful and optimistically titled Annual Report, ‘A New Day Beckons’. We were emerging from a tumultuous period dominated by a pandemic, significant downturns in human development and reversals in economic gains. But we were also witnessing the remarkable resilience of the human spirit and a willingness to pivot as the times demanded. It was during this time of crisis that the United Nations system in the Caribbean began regionwide consultations leading to the finalization of the 2022 to 2026 Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (MSDCF) for the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, the premier instrument for advancing the 2030 Agenda in the region. With a commitment to addressing structural vulnerabilities by building back better, the UN MCSDF became the framework for the development of UNDP’s new 2022 to 2026 Country Programme for Jamaica, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. As we consulted with our key partners and contemplated the scope of UNDP assistance within the context of the MCSDF blueprint, we reconfirmed that resilience must become a cornerstone of our efforts and key marginalized and vulnerable groups must be incorporated so they also benefit from development gains. UNDP therefore committed to a new programme of assistance that supports key populations to build their resilience, enhance safety and security, and expand economic opportunities ensuring a sustainable approach to poverty reduction that leaves no one behind.  

The next chapter, starting 2022, therefore represented A New Beginning heralded by a new Country Programme and a new paradigm for poverty reduction.

Our new CPD presents a non-traditional approach to multidimensional poverty anchored on securing gains in four priorities areas:

• Social Resilience and Inclusion
• Citizen Safety and Security and Rule of Law
• Climate Change Resilience
• Sustainable Natural Resource Management 

We believe that committing resources to these four development outcomes can address the multidimensional nature of poverty. 

By bringing those left behind into mainstream opportunities; addressing the unsettling and destabilizing impacts of crime and violence; tackling persistent setbacks occasioned by climate events from the very root; and sustainably managing resources so they create economic opportunities without harming the environment – we can set the stage for a further reduction in the rates of poverty. 

Annual Report 2022, A New Beginning, outlines our fledgling steps along this new pathway which has been marked by significant challenges. We owe our brilliant start to the dedication of Team UNDP and our amazing partners in Government, civil society, the national and international development community, and our donor countries.