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Thanks for CDB in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew

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As the Government of Haiti continues to use the insurance payout from CCRIF SPC to assist the recovery efforts after Hurricane Matthew, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has been commended for its continued support in ensuring the country has catastrophic risk insurance coverage. CDB has paid Haiti' insurance premium over the last five years. After the passage of Matthew, the country received USD23.4 million under its tropical cyclone and excess rainfall policies. CDB received the commendation at a meeting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which the Hon. Yves Bastien, Haiti' Minister of Finance, his advisors, Mr. Isaac Anthony, CEO of CCRIF, and a delegation from CDB attended. The Finance Minister said approximately 50% of the payment remains to be spent. Part of the payment from CCRIF has so far been used to provide food and shelter to at least 1.4 million persons who were adversely affected and displaced by Matthew. Bastien said that the money has also been used to purchase medication especially for children, tarpaulins for houses - some 18,000 houses in the South were without roofs—and also for the actual replacement of roofs for schools, churches and courthouses. The CCRIF payout has also been used to assist the agriculture sector and the Ministry of Public Works in facilitating the reopening of roads blocked by debris. CCRIF is the world' first multi-country risk pool based on parametric insurance and provides parametric catastrophe insurance for Caribbean and Central American governments - offering hurricane, earthquake and - since 2013 - excess rainfall coverage. It was capitalized through contributions to a Multi-Donor Trust Fund by CDB and other development partners, as well as through membership fees paid by participating governments.

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