World Bank Caribbean

01/06/2026

🌋 When La Soufrière erupted in April 2021, more than 22,000 Vincentians were forced to flee.
Three years on, recovery is happening.

Through the Volcanic Eruption Emergency Project, more than 4,600 people earned income clearing ash and rebuilding access roads. New groundwater systems, repaired bridges, and upgraded seismic monitoring are making the island more resilient for the future.

Read the full story on what building back better looks like in practice: http://wrld.bg/yyVu50YAXnt

29/05/2026

When Hurricane Irma shut down Princess Juliana Airport in 2017, thousands of tourism jobs went with it.

The rebuilt airport is now moving 1.8M passengers again — restoring livelihoods across Sint Maarten.

Read the story and explore the case study. http://wrld.bg/axt950YvPIv

27/05/2026

World Bank Group is supporting the Caribbean to modernize utilities, reduce inefficiencies, and link financing to results. Access is no longer enough. People expect safe, reliable water services on demand.

Learn more: Animation http://wrld.bg/BMhi50Yx36V

26/05/2026

The World Bank has approved a new Country Partnership Framework for Belize — a strategy built around one core goal: more and better jobs for Belizeans.

The Framework reflects Belize's significant fiscal achievements — public debt reduced from 103% to 62% of GDP, unemployment at a historic low of 2.1% — and sets out a clear agenda for the country's next phase of development across four pillars:

· Economic competitiveness
· Energy security
· Human capital
· Climate and environmental resilience

The Belize strategy deploys the full suite of World Bank Group instruments combining public financing with private sector mobilization to maximize development impact.

Learn more:

The Country Partnership Framework will deploy a

23/05/2026

A US$54.7 million program to strengthen water security in Barbados has been approved by the World Bank Group — targeting one of the most water-scarce countries in the world.

Barbados currently loses 50% of all water produced before it reaches consumers — and with untreated waste already threatening the coastal ecosystems that tourism and jobs depend on, the program is expected to generate and protect up to 58,000 jobs over its lifetime.

The program targets utility modernization, sanitation expansion, and water governance.

This is phase 1 of the Caribbean Regional Water Security Program, also covering Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia.

Learn more: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/05/20/barbados-to-strengthen-water-security-with-world-bank-support

22/05/2026

🇭🇹 Opportunité d'emploi – Cap-Haïtien

Le Groupe de la Banque mondiale recrute un(e) technicien(ne) en support informatique pour son bureau de Cap-Haïtien.

Profil recherché :

Bac + 10 ans d'expérience en IT
Maîtrise du français et/ou créole haïtien
Connaissance de Windows, MS Office, réseaux, visioconférence
Anglais professionnel requis

📍 Présence sur site 5 jours/semaine
📅 Date de clôture : 29 mai 2026
Postulez ici: http://wrld.bg/mH9f50Z2Ov4

21/05/2026

𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved the Barbados Water Security and Sector Performance Program, a new project that will strengthen water security in Barbados, helping to reduce water losses, expand sanitation services and protect livelihoods which depend on reliable water services.

Barbados is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. The island relies on groundwater for 86 percent of its water supply and is already extracting nearly as much groundwater as can be safely removed each year without causing permanent damage to its reserves, while water demand is projected to grow by 30 percent by 2050. The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) currently loses about 50% of all water produced before it reaches consumers - through leaking pipes, inaccurate meters, and billing gaps. Approximately 80 percent of the island’s land area is vulnerable to groundwater contamination from poorly managed sewage disposal. Untreated waste reaching coastal waters impacts marine ecosystems which tourism and jobs depend on.

The US $54.7 million program addresses these challenges across three areas. The first focuses on modernizing the BWA’s operations - deploying a private sector partner to work alongside utility staff, improving billing and metering systems, reducing pipe losses, and increasing revenues. The second expands sanitation services, supporting 2,000 new household sewage connections and introducing regulations for the safe collection and treatment of waste. The third strengthens governance, establishing a national groundwater monitoring system and a high-level coordination body linking water management to agriculture, energy, and climate planning.

Learn more: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/05/20/barbados-to-strengthen-water-security-with-world-bank-support

19/05/2026

Press Release - Washington, D.C., May 2026
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐜𝐚

The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or IBRD, Aaa/AAA), priced a catastrophe (cat) bond that finances USD 200 million of insurance coverage against hurricanes for Jamaica replacing the previous cat bonds that financed USD 150 million coverage that was paid out to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa, which hit the island in October 2025.

The transaction was oversubscribed by investors, which supported the upsizing of its initial target amount. The bond builds on the experience of the catastrophe bonds issued by the World Bank in 2021 and 2024, to support Jamaica. For the 3-year 2024 catastrophe bond, a full payout to Jamaica was triggered by Hurricane Melissa in 2025. The pre-agreed parametric triggers based on the storm’s path and intensity were met, demonstrating how these instruments can deliver rapid financial support after major disasters (press release).

For Jamaica, the catastrophe bond and related risk transfer agreement form part of a multi-layered disaster risk financing strategy, helping to manage the fiscal impact of severe hurricanes while ensuring timely access to financial resources following extreme events. Jamaica is highly exposed to the financial consequences caused by hurricanes, which can have significant impacts on lives, livelihoods, and economic stability. The catastrophe bond provides pre-arranged financing for protection with regard to low-frequency, high-impact hurricane events, complementing other instruments such as budget reserves, contingent financing, and insurance.

The catastrophe bond was issued under IBRD’s “capital at risk” notes program, which enables member countries to transfer disaster-related risks to global capital markets. Under the transaction structure, the World Bank issues the bond and enters into a risk transfer agreement with the government of Jamaica, which pays a premium for the coverage based on the terms achieved in the capital markets.

“Having disaster risk financing in place is a key pillar of our resilience building framework. We thank our partner, the World Bank, for its continued support. The catastrophe bond is an important piece ensuring capital market access for Jamaica,” said the Hon. Fayval Williams, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Government of Jamaica.

"We are proud to continue supporting Jamaica in accessing capital markets through the World Bank to strengthen its resilience against hurricane risk," said Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank Group. "The payout following Hurricane Melissa demonstrated once again how countries can prepare for disaster with well-designed parametric instruments that deliver fast, and reliable financial protection when it is needed most."

“Jamaica’s commitment to building resilience and protecting livelihoods through hurricane insurance coverage is commendable. Having faced two significant hurricanes in the past two years, financial preparedness remains critical, and the World Bank will continue supporting Jamaica as it plans and builds forward,” said Susana Cordeiro Guerra, World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Aon Securities and Swiss Re Capital Markets were the joint structuring agents and joint bookrunners for the transaction. Moody’s RMS is the risk modeler and calculation agent.

World Bank Prices Catastrophe Bond Providing Protection for Jamaica Replacing Coverage Triggered by Hurricane Melissa

18/05/2026

Global development is not one story. It unfolds across five pillars: People, Planet, Prosperity, Infrastructure, and Digital.

Which countries are moving fastest—and which are losing ground?

Explore the Atlas: http://wrld.bg/6Ryr50YUApn

15/05/2026

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?

Human capital — people’s health, skills, knowledge, and experience — is the foundation of economic growth and poverty reduction.

But globally, progress is slow.

A new World Bank report finds that deficits in nutrition, learning, and workforce skills are costing low- and middle-income countries 51% of their future labor earnings.

Between 2010 and 2025, 86 of 129 countries saw declines in at least one key dimension of human capital.

Against this global backdrop, the newly expanded Human Capital Index Plus (HCI+) tracks how countries are building human capital from birth to age 65 — and how gaps today translate into forgone future productivity.

Here are the latest HCI+ scores in selected Caribbean countries (max score: 325).

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦: 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 for its income level, alongside countries such as Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, and Vietnam — achieving stronger human capital outcomes than peers with similar resources.

The report underscores that human capital is shaped not only in schools and clinics, but also in homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. Early childhood environments, community conditions, and access to quality jobs all matter. http://wrld.bg/aNp150YogI6