Caribbean leaders launch bold roadmap to retrofit homes against hurricanes

The new initiative, announced following a high-level workshop in Trinidad and Tobago last week, brings together more than 15 Caribbean nations to develop a unified Regional Strategy for Housing Resilience. The roadmap aims to scale up investments in retrofitting, moving beyond fragmented national efforts to a shared, cost-effective approach that pools resources and expertise.

With climate hazards growing more severe each year, housing remains the region’s most visible — and most vulnerable — casualty of disasters. The new strategy directly targets that gap, seeking to protect households that have long lacked adequate structural defenses.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will co-develop a joint regional housing resilience investment programme. The programme will combine:

•  Home improvement grants and concessional loans
• Technical assistance and government-supported retrofits for vulnerable homeowners
• Skills training for workers and residents
• Home insurance support
• Institutional strengthening of housing authorities

Under a newly launched Regional Public Goods Technical Cooperation titled “Home is Where the Hurt Is,” the IDB will lead primary data collection and systematic analysis of housing typologies and resilience deficits across participating nations. Governments will then use that data to produce a Regional Policy and Operational Manual for housing retrofits — creating standardized, replicable approaches for the entire Caribbean.

“For Caribbean families, a home is not just shelter; it is a symbol of community, of belonging and of economic security,” said Anton Edmunds, general manager of the Caribbean Country Department at the IDB. “We can no longer afford to address housing vulnerability in isolation. Pooling our resources and expertise to ensure that homes across the Caribbean are built to withstand mounting environmental pressures is critical. This cooperation is evidence of a shared commitment, of regional solidarity.”

The workshop gathered Ministers of Housing, Permanent Secretaries, and technical experts from across the region to align on the roadmap’s next steps.

L. O’Reilly Lewis, Director of Projects at the CDB, underscored the gravity of the moment: “There is an urgent need for a structured, regionally coordinated investment programme that not only addresses the technical challenges of retrofitting existing housing stock but also strengthens policy frameworks, financing mechanisms, and institutional capacity across our member countries.”

“By sharing lessons from post-disaster reconstruction, advancing practical retrofit solutions, and aligning on financing pathways,” Lewis added, “we are laying the groundwork for scalable, sustainable resilience interventions that can protect Caribbean households for generations to come.”

The IDB and CDB will now work with participating governments to develop a prospective joint investment operation designed to systematically reduce recurring vulnerability in Caribbean homes — helping turn houses into the secure havens they were always intended to be.