Islands Seek International Funding for Hurricane Recovery
- 7 years ago
Islands Seek International Funding for Hurricane Recovery
19, 2017
UNITED NATIONS — As Hurricane Maria thunders through the Caribbean, island leaders still reeling from Hurricane Irma are calling on
international organizations to provide money to help vulnerable countries recover from devastating storms linked to climate change.
Michele J. Sison, the deputy United States ambassador to the United Nations, told leaders on Monday
that the United States Agency for International Development had committed $1.2 million to help Caribbean islands hit by Hurricane Irma.
We ask the international community to help us, not because we want to outstretch a begging bowl,
but because forces far beyond our control have pushed us to this dire situation," Mr. Williams told the United Nations on Monday.
No amount of planning in Barbuda, for example, could have protected the island from the utter collapse of its infrastructure, Walton Alfonso Webson, Antigua
and Barbuda’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview.
Behind the scenes, though, several said it was past time for the creation of a special funding
mechanism to help countries deal with the unavoidable consequences of climate change.
19, 2017
UNITED NATIONS — As Hurricane Maria thunders through the Caribbean, island leaders still reeling from Hurricane Irma are calling on
international organizations to provide money to help vulnerable countries recover from devastating storms linked to climate change.
Michele J. Sison, the deputy United States ambassador to the United Nations, told leaders on Monday
that the United States Agency for International Development had committed $1.2 million to help Caribbean islands hit by Hurricane Irma.
We ask the international community to help us, not because we want to outstretch a begging bowl,
but because forces far beyond our control have pushed us to this dire situation," Mr. Williams told the United Nations on Monday.
No amount of planning in Barbuda, for example, could have protected the island from the utter collapse of its infrastructure, Walton Alfonso Webson, Antigua
and Barbuda’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview.
Behind the scenes, though, several said it was past time for the creation of a special funding
mechanism to help countries deal with the unavoidable consequences of climate change.