Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Health, Wellness, Environment and Civil Service Affairs, Michael Joseph, has urged international partners to make climate financing faster and easier for Caribbean small island states to access, saying commitments must translate into improvements in people’s lives.
Joseph made the call at a high-level ministerial meeting at United Nations Headquarters hosted by Haiti, CARICOM and Antigua and Barbuda. The meeting brought Caribbean representatives and development partners together to discuss implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States, or ABAS, a ten-year framework adopted in 2024.
“For Antigua and Barbuda, ABAS must be a framework for delivery, not another declaration we congratulate ourselves for negotiating,” Joseph said.
He said affordable, predictable funding is needed to strengthen infrastructure, prepare for disasters, protect natural resources, improve health services and create economic opportunities. Financing decisions should also take account of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, he argued, because income figures alone do not capture the risks facing small islands.
Joseph called for partnerships that help national institutions develop projects, manage funds and track results. He pointed to the proposed SIDS Centre of Excellence as a way to give countries access to technical expertise, training and project preparation support.
“The real measure of the ABAS decade will be whether a SIDS government can finance the infrastructure it needs; whether communities are more resilient; whether economies are more diversified; whether institutions are stronger; and whether our people have greater opportunity and security,” he said.
The meeting was part of efforts to bring shared Caribbean priorities into upcoming international discussions, including COP31.
The best health minister our country has ever had. Man and woman on their toes.
The focus on turning commitments into actual projects is important. Caribbean SIDS face unique vulnerabilities, so financing mechanisms should be accessible, timely and designed around the realities of small island economies.
The call for faster climate financing is important, but government must also be transparent about how these funds are received, allocated and spent. Caribbean people deserve to see clear results from every major commitment made internationally.