As the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season approaches, Saint Lucia is taking decisive steps to reinforce its national disaster preparedness systems. A joint mission between the Government of Saint Lucia and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) focused on enhancing the country’s capacity to deliver timely cash-based assistance to vulnerable households in the event of an emergency.

The mission reviewed Saint Lucia’s readiness to scale up emergency cash assistance, including the potential expansion of support to households not currently covered by the Public Assistance Programme. Head of WFP’s Satellite Office in Saint Lucia, Lilia Ramjeawan, says discussions explored the use of digital payment solutions, improvements in data management, and stronger coordination between key ministries to ensure timely and efficient delivery.

“This mission is really an important step in Saint Lucia’s efforts to strengthen the systems that protect people before the disasters happen. So by coming together to improve how we prepare for emergency cash assistance, and by testing early action through simulation Saint Lucia is shaping new and innovative ways to get ahead of disasters, not just here but across the region.”

The Ministry of Equity and the Ministry of Finance reaffirmed their commitment to reaching those most in need through improved planning and operational readiness.

This initiative forms part of a broader Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) mission, conducted in collaboration with NEMO, covering logistics, telecommunications, and early warning systems.

The mission was followed by an Anticipatory Action simulation exercise, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, which will test Saint Lucia’s ability to take early action ahead of a hurricane warning.

Permanenet Secretary of the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Charmaine Hippolyte Emmanuel explains that the exercise will simulate the early release of funds, coordinated response efforts, and activation of pre-arranged assistance to help vulnerable households prepare before the storm makes landfall.

“By conducting this simulation exercise we want to ensure that we capture the lessons learnt, we want to ensure that persons know exactly how the mechanism works so in the event of an actual storm, everything will be well coordinated. We will lessen on the psychological and physical effects the storm will have on our clients.”

By working together with stakeholders to improve readiness for emergency cash assistance and testing early action through simulation, the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment continues its mandate of helping to shape innovative approaches for disaster preparedness in the region.