Dominican Republic. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Civil Defense Agencies of Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, along with the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, have officially launched an initiative aimed at strengthening national capacities and increasing disaster resilience in critical infrastructures within the education and water supply sectors in the three countries. 

The Caribbean region, due to its geographical location and vulnerability conditions (physical, social, economic, and environmental), is highly susceptible to the impact of climate-related and geological hazards. Climate change and other global trends are increasing the intensity and frequency of threats. According to the IPCC (6th Assessment Report), tropical cyclones and severe storms are expected to become more extreme in the Caribbean.  

This initiative - titled "Strengthening Capacities, Safety, and Resilience of Critical Infrastructure in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Haiti” - is funded by the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund (IRAF) of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), under the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) and with the support of the Indian government, aims to contribute to the strengthening of capacities for knowledge management, methodological facilitation, institutionalization of tools, improvement of coordination mechanisms, and vulnerability intervention, ensuring cross-cutting, intersectoral, gender, and social inclusion approaches. 

Amit Prothi, Director General, CDRI said, "CDRI is pleased to support the development of resilient water and educational infrastructure in Cuba, Haiti and Dominican Republic. We are committed to supporting the Caribbean region to enhance its infrastructure resilience through strengthening institutional and technical capacities." 

The project aims to increase the resilience of critical infrastructure by strengthening technical capacity and methodological application to assess the safety and resilience of infrastructure. It will focus on educational and water supply infrastructure at the national level in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Haiti, with an inclusive vision to improve early warning coordination mechanisms at the regional level in response to climate events and to implement South-South cooperation mechanisms. 

Meanwhile, Ana Maria Diaz, the UNDP Resident Representative in the Dominican Republic, noted that the international organization appreciates the trust of the National Emergency Commissions and Civil Defenses in carrying out this project and reiterated the full commitment of UNDP to support the three governments from the region in managing climate shocks and crises.  

She also took the opportunity to thank the governments of India, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the European Union, donors of the IRAF fund, for placing their trust in UNDP to execute this project, and to congratulate CDRI for its ambition. He reiterated UNDP's commitment to strengthen its joint work with the government of India in the Dominican Republic. 

From Cuba, Gloria Gelis, Head of the Disaster Reduction Department of the Cuban Civil Defense, highlighted the opportunities this new project presents to continue deepening collaboration and exchanging best practices among the three nations involved, with the aim of improving and better coordinating disaster risk management mechanisms in the region. 

This initiative will enable, across the three countries, a network of 45 professionals trained and certified in the application and use of standardized methodologies for assessing the safety and resilience of educational and water supply infrastructure, with the ability to multiply knowledge and be available to mobilize to any country in the region when needed. Additionally, 14 educational and 12 water supply infrastructures will have been evaluated, with intervention plans and functional improvements implemented in 24 infrastructures, among other outcomes.