By the time Beryl arrived, Grenada had already spent 20 years recovering from Hurricane Ivan (2004), a disaster that cost a staggering 200 percent of GDP and precipitated a debt crisis. Small island nations constantly borrow to recover before the next hurricane strikes, impacting social spending and development goals.
Small island developing states need to increase social spending by 6.6 percent of GDP by 2030, but debt service and repayment costs consume 32 percent of revenue. Debt is growing faster than spending on education, health, and capital investment combined.
Small island developing states cannot solve the debt-disaster-debt cycle alone. The international community has a moral duty to assist in breaking this cycle and supporting these nations in achieving their development goals.
[
Collection
]
[
|
...
]