CAIRO, Egypt, CMC—The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced Wednesday that it is donating more than half a million US dollars to aid disaster relief and rebuilding efforts across Caribbean countries hard hit by Hurricane Beryl’s passage in July.
Hurricane Beryl severely devastated the Grenadian islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique and several islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including Union Island and Mayreau. It also impacted Jamaica.
The passage of the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season also affected St. Lucia and Barbados to a lesser extent.
The Pan-African multilateral financial institution, which is mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade, said that its acting chief operating officer at its Caribbean Office, Okechukwu Ihejirika, delivered a letter of solidarity to the prime ministers of four Caribbean countries on behalf of the Afreximbank president and chairman of the board of directors, Professor Benedict Oramah.
In the letter, Prof. Oramah noted that the impacted countries are part of the 11 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries participating in Afreximbank under a Partnership Treaty between Afreximbank and CARICOM.
He added that it was only necessary for the Bank ‘to stand with them at this difficult time.
“The news of the hurricane’s impact has deeply saddened us, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by that devastating event. However, the strength and resilience of Caribbean people is well-known; we do not doubt that these qualities will shine through during this difficult period,” said President Oramah.
Besides delivering on its trade and development mandate, the bank also takes proactive steps to help countries deal with global climate and health emergencies, given the rising frequency and intensity of climate and health disasters in Africa and the Caribbean.
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