In a significant step toward strengthening national disaster resilience, Grenada’s key public agencies convened at Radisson Hotel Grenada in November 2025 to establish comprehensive housing guidelines for updating the National Disaster Management Plan. The landmark meeting brought together experts and officials to create frameworks that specifically address gender-responsive recovery and reconstruction efforts.
The newly developed guidelines emerged from an extensive multi-week review process examining critical documents including the 2024 Post Disaster Needs Assessment, the 2011 National Disaster Plan, and relevant legislation such as the Physical Planning and Development Control Act and the 2023 Disaster Management Act. The process incorporated direct consultations with housing sector agencies to ensure practical applicability.
This initiative operates under the Enabling Gender-Responsive Disaster Recovery, Climate, and Environmental Resilience in the Caribbean (EnGenDER) project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) with funding from Global Affairs Canada. The Ministry of Economic Development, Planning and Cooperatives coordinates the project alongside NaDMA, the Ministry of Social and Community Development, Housing and Gender Affairs, the Ministry of Carriacou and Petit Martinique Affairs and Local Government, and the Central Statistical Office.
Dr. Grenville Phillips, a renowned Caribbean civil and structural engineer specializing in Construction Quality Assurance and Building Codes, including the Caricom Code of Practice for Residential Construction, led the technical exercise. Dr. Phillips previously contributed his expertise as part of CDEMA’s Rapid Needs Assessment Team following Hurricane Beryl.
The project team comprising UNDP, CDEMA, and consulting experts conducted validation meetings in Carriacou to refine a Housing Recovery Plan based on primary data collection regarding housing damage conditions and household impacts.
Elizabeth Charles-Soomer, UNDP MCO Prevention, Resilience and Recovery Cluster Lead for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, expressed satisfaction with discussion quality and participation from leads of the Planning and Development Authority, The Housing Authority, The Ministry of Mobilisation, Implementation and Transformation, and NaDMA. Permanent Secretary Merina Jessamy from the Ministry of Economic Development echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the critical importance of collaborative whole-of-government approaches to recovery and restoration efforts.