The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has launched the Safer Building Program, as part of its ongoing commitment to strengthen holistic resilience strategies throughout the region.
The CDB said that the programme, which is being launched in collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and other key partners, is being undertaken under the theme “Build Safe: Constructing Homes for Tomorrow”.
The program is also being supported by the government of Norway, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and others.
At the core of the project is the Code of Practice (COP) for the Construction of Houses, first developed in 2005 by CDEMA in collaboration with CROSQ.
The Code has since been updated, with support from CDB, to ensure homes in the Caribbean can withstand hurricanes of up to Category 5. Regional train-the-trainer workshops, conducted earlier in the project, equipped professionals in 16 countries with the skills to implement the updated code, ensuring the principles are applied throughout the construction industry.
The CDB said the objective of the program is to enhance the resilience of homes and communities in the Caribbean to hurricanes and other extreme weather phenomena.
