Friday, February 3, 2017 — A team from the OECS Commission commenced a four-day Country Needs Assessment (CNA) mission in Anguilla on Tuesday January 31, 2017. The CNA mission involves discussion with a wide cross-section of stakeholders who will have the responsibility of implementing several aspects of the Country Poverty Assessment (CPA).
Among the stakeholders involved in Tuesday’s discussion were the Ministries of Social Development, Health, Education and key Non-Governmental Organisations. The consultation will be used to gather information on Anguilla’s readiness to undertake the Enhanced CPA. Factors of readiness include the appointment of a National Assessment Team (NAT), the availability of a budget to support the implementation of the various components of the CPA, as well as the capacity and skills to implement some of the activities. The mission will also determine the areas where technical and financial support will be needed.
CNAs are prerequisite activities used to determine targeted support to better assist Member States in the implementation of their comprehensive Country Poverty Assessment. This exercise is the third of a series of missions to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States’ (OECS) Member States. Two previous CNAs were held in Dominica and Saint Lucia respectively. Anguilla is scheduled to undertake their comprehensive CPA in 2018.
The CNA missions to OECS Member States will be conducted over a four-month period and are funded by the Caribbean Development Bank under the Enhanced Country Poverty Assessment Project. Ms Geraldine St Croix, Project Coordinator, and Mrs. Amonia Rolle-Paul, Social and Gender Analyst, led the CNA mission in Anguilla.