Paramaribo, Suriname, maping of the coastal plains. Photo: frans lemmens / Alamy Stock Photo Strengthening Disaster Resilience and Social Inclusiveness of Public Financial Management Systems in the Caribbean Context Analytical Underpinnings How do We Support PFM Systems? Reviews of the disaster resilience of PFM systems in the Caribbean, conducted by the World Bank Governance Team, With the support of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and reveal that the fiscal response to disasters is neither strategic nor Recovery (GFDDR) through the Canada-Caribbean Resilience efficient in most instances, and emergency finance procedures Facility (CRF), the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice Latin are often undocumented, ad hoc, coincidental, and sometimes America and the Caribbean is providing technical assistance to inefficient. Surprisingly, given the frequency of natural disasters strengthen disaster resilience and social inclusiveness of public in the Caribbean, national authorities provide limited guidance on financial management (PFM) systems in nine countries in the how to expedite financial management, public procurement, and Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, public investments to swiftly respond to or rebuild after disasters. Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. For further information, click here: https://www. Public assets are not systematically tracked and are financially gfdrr.org/en/crf. under-protected, making it difficult to quickly carry out accurate The objective of the PFM support is to strengthen the capacity post-disaster needs assessments or to replace destroyed assets. of governments across the region to distribute and manage The administration of disaster risk financing needs to be more resources effectively and efficiently in response to natural responsive and flexible while ensuring value for money and mini- disasters and emergencies. Technical assistance also aims to mizing opportunities for fraud and corruption. improve the capacity of governments to integrate social inclusion in the design and implementation of budget policies to ensure PFM and procurement have to be embedded in a broader disas- that governments can manage more inclusive recovery and ter resilience and response framework encompassing: fiscal response efforts. resilience, countercyclical fiscal policies, reducing public debt, Country Engagements To improve disaster resilience and social inclusion of PFM systems, the World Bank Governance Team has been working closely with Governments in the region to provide hands- on support. Below are some of the examples of the type of assistance provided. Antigua and Barbuda: Streamlining Procurement Procedures for Disaster Response We are supporting the Government to develop its Emergency Pro- curement Rules and Procedures to help guide the procurement of goods and services during emergencies. The guidelines specify the conduct of procurement approvals, methods, and sole source solicitations during emergencies and define the role of budgetary units in the process.  Dominica: Integrating Climate-Risks in the Appraisal of Public Investment Projects The Government designed a new Public Sector Investment Pro- gram Methodology that considers vulnerability to climate shocks and impacts in public investment project design, physical place- ment, construction, and maintenance, including by using projec- tions of the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and other climate trends (e.g., sea-level rise) over the asset’s Grenada. Prisma by Dukas Presseagentur GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo intended lifetime. and alignment of PFM systems; financial resilience, public sec- Grenada: Mainstreaming Gender Considerations tor risk layering, strengthening the financial sector and insurance in Planning and Budgeting markets; social resilience, strengthening social safety nets and The Government introduced a gender budgeting framework access to basic infrastructure; and institutional resilience, sys- which: consists of a new budget submission template; requires tems that adapt and respond to disasters and ensure business gender analysis of programs and budget allocations based on continuity. sex-disaggregated data; supports capacity development for improved data collection and analyses across line ministries, and introduces the presentation of gender equity priorities and related How Disaster Resilient are PFM Systems in the Caribbean? budget measures in the publicly available budget documentation. Public Asset PFM Rules and Regulations Institutional Arrangements Saint Lucia: Improving Business Continuity Management for PFM of Ministry of Finance Public Investment Management Resource Planning The Ministry of Finance of Saint Lucia has been conducting business impact analyses to understand the key PFM services Procurement Templates and that must be sustained or quickly restored during disasters. The Documents Budget Appropriation findings will inform the Ministry’s business continuity planning to keep key PFM services and make it easier to resume them after Procurement Procedures the disruption. Gender Sensitive Resource Allocation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Designing Emergency Budget Execution Guidelines Procurement Planning Expenditure Controls We have helped to develop the Emergency Budget Execution Information Services Expenditure Tracking Guidelines that facilitate the use of funds during disasters. The and Record Keeping Auditing Practices Guidelines describe the procedures and practices for in-year adjustments to the budget to facilitate timely and flexible respons- Legend: 1 signifies full disaster resilience; 0.2 signifies limited or no disaster resilience of PFM. es to disasters within the powers allocated to the Executive.  Regional Activities Webinars on Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) and Disaggregated Data In collaboration with Statistics Canada’s Project for the Regional Advancement of Statistics in the Caribbean (PRASC) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, we organized a series of online seminars on the importance of gender-based analysis and disaggregated data. Over 150 participants from Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname joined the sessions to discuss the collection of disaggregated data and how it can be used to design programs that better target the needs of different groups. Watch the video from one of the events. Read our story on Integrating Gender in Budget Policies for Disaster Management in the Caribbean, and our new blog on Dominica, collapsed bridge after 2017 Hurricane Maria. Photo: Jean-Francois Manuel Disaggregated Data for Focused Development Programs below. Disaggregated data for focused development programs URŠKA ZRINSKI & BERNARD MYERS | MAY 13, 2022 This page in: English Disaggregated data, or data broken down by age, sex, and income levels, can help governments better target development programs. A series of online seminars by Statistics Canada and the World Bank showed Caribbean countries how to collect and leverage disaggregated data to improve program impacts. The ongoing pandemic has hugely impacted people across the world, officials at a roundtable in Saint Lucia and in so many different ways. Depending on who you are and where you live, the experience can be, to use a cliché, worlds apart! For example, Often, government programs, though well-intended, do not recognize to a young boy living in the city, it could all be about attending school these different experiences. Their one-size-fits-all approach fails to remotely, or not being able to play football with his friends. For him, account for and respond to diverse needs. This results in poor targeting, learning is challenging, his grades are deteriorating, his parents may wasted resources, and can even place individuals and groups at greater be out of work. He’s cooped up in a small apartment with his parents, risk, especially when fighting a life-threatening crisis like COVID-19. brothers, and sisters. Life is no longer fun. Which is why, to better understand people’s different roles and In contrast, for his grandmother, who still lives in the village with little experiences, countries have been conducting impact assessments or no access to the internet, getting information is a challenge. What’s of policies based on gender and age. While approaches to conducting going on with the pandemic? When and where can she get vaccinated? assessments may vary, their effectiveness is heavily dependent on the Her daily walks to the market, her weekly gatherings with friends, have all availability of disaggregated data, or data that is broken down by, to start been canceled. For her, life has become lonely. She feels isolated. with, age, sex, or income levels. MORE > CONTACT US To learn how to access support and participate directly in activities sponsored by the CRF, please contact CaribbeanPFM@worldbank.org.