Page 17 - Islands Business March 2023

LDCs

UNICEF is working with the Department of Water Resources-Vanuatu to deliver emergency clean water and water jerry-cans to communities following recent devastating
cyclones. Photo: UNICEF

MEASURING VULNERABILITY FOR

DEVELOPMENT

By Nic Maclellan Caribbean and Indian Ocean continue to lose access to con-
cessional loans and development assistance because eco-
Once again, people in Vanuatu are rebuilding their homes nomic criteria like GNI are the core measure that determines
after two cyclones hit the nation in the first week of March. eligibility for assistance. In response, the United Nations
It’s a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of small island is working on new ways to measure vulnerability, such as a
developing states and the way that human-induced climate Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI).
change and natural disasters can set back livelihoods, health Rabab Fatima of Bangladesh is the UN High Representative
and well-being. for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Coun-
For many years, Pacific governments have been frustrated tries and Small Island Developing States. Speaking in March
that traditional measures of development do not adequately at the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries
capture these vulnerabilities. For the Organisation of Eco- in Qatar, she described the MVI as “a vital tool to help small
nomic Cooperation and Development and multilateral devel- island nations gain access to the concessional financing that
opment banks like the World Bank and Asian Development they need to survive the climate catastrophe, to improve
Bank, decisions about allocating development finance have their long-term national planning, service their debts, and
long been determined by measures such as the Gross National sign up to insurance and compensation schemes that may be
Income (GNI) of a country. their last hope when the waters rise.”
Many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific, Going beyond such measures as gross national income and

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