The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, has welcomed the decision by the United Nations (UN) to adopt the use of a Multi-Dimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) as a huge win for small island states, particularly those most vulnerable to the dangerous impacts of a worsening global climate.
The UN member states reached the agreement for the adoption and use of a Multi-Dimensional Vulnerability Index on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.
Since assuming office in 2022, Prime Minister Dr. Drew has championed the use of this tool which takes the special circumstances of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) into account when accessing crucial development support, including concessionary financing. Currently, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) metric used by lending agencies fall short in considering the unique vulnerabilities of small nations.
In his inaugural address to the United Nations General Assembly in September of 2022, Prime Minister Dr. Drew indicated that the Multi-Dimensional Vulnerability Index presents a more accurate measure of the needs of SIDS.
“Climate financing, resiliency and environmental conservation must be integrated into national development policies and must be at the forefront of our global development agenda. This situation cries out for the multilateral system to urgently put in place a multidimensional vulnerability index which takes into consideration the peculiar characteristics and climate vulnerabilities of small island developing states such as mine,” Prime Minister Drew said. “Caribbean nations are on the ‘bullet end’ of a climate fight we did not cause, do not want, and cannot afford, but are unable to escape. I, therefore, join my brothers and sister leaders in CARICOM in calling for the development of a multidimensional vulnerability index,” Dr. Drew further added Dring his 2022 address.
The need for this change became more apparent following the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl which caused millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructural damages in a number of Caribbean islands.
Prime Minister Drew’s advocacy for the adoption of the MVI index continued at different forums throughout the year, with the latest calls coming at the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) in May, 2024, in Antigua.