Flooding in the Eastern Caribbean - Recovery and Rehabilitation for Children - UNICEF 2014

February 2014 - Severe rains and high winds hit the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Lucia and Dominica in December 2013. The Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines reported severe damage to health facilities schools and early childhood centres infrastructure housing water and sanitation systems roads and bridges. In Saint Lucia roads and bridges were damaged or destroyed water supply was cut off and health facilities and schools were badly affected. Roads and houses were also damaged in the southern part of Dominica. With DFATD support UNICEF is addressing the recovery and rehabilitation needs of disaster-affected children in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia to help them return to their normal lives and reach their full potential. Project activities include: (1) prepositioning emergency supplies such as water purification tablets oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhea school in-a-box and hygiene kits so that they are available for the next hurricane season; (2) rehabilitating early childhood centres and primary and secondary schools so that children have safe places in which to learn and play; (3) providing psycho-social support to disaster-affected children and their families; and (4) keeping track of lessons learned in order to ensure a more effective response to the specific needs of children in future emergency situations.

The expected immediate outcomes of this project include: (1) increased access to education to children in affected communities; and (2) strengthened preparedness and response capacity of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Lucia and UNICEF. The expected intermediate outcome is reduced vulnerability of crisis-affected people especially children.