The Framework was presented during the 2026 Annual Coordination Meeting of the United Nations MSDCF for the Caribbean, convened on 16 June 2026. Over the next five years, the new MSDCF will guide coordinated United Nations support to national and regional priorities, helping to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and deliver meaningful results for people and communities across the region.Chaired by Belize, the hybrid meeting brought together Member States, Resident Coordinators, regional partners, and United Nations entities for a focused regional dialogue on results, priorities, and the next chapter of cooperation. Participants reflected on the achievements and lessons of the MSDCF 2022-2026.“With Governments and development partners we have worked together to shape a Multi-Country Cooperation Framework that reflects national priorities and regional aspirations. This Framework is about creating opportunities, strengthening resilience, protecting the most vulnerable, and delivering tangible results in the daily lives of Caribbean citizens.” Mr. Raul Salazar, UN Resident Coordinator for Belize and El Salvador, and Chair of the Regional Steering Committee of the MSDCF.In his remarks, H.E. Oscar Arnold, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Belize, lauded the partnership between Caribbean governments and the United Nations that underpinned the Cooperation Framework: “The MSDCF has been shaped by the priorities, experiences and aspirations of our countries, and stands as a testament to our collective commitment to build a more resilient, inclusive and prosperous Caribbean.” Guided by the theme, One Caribbean. One Framework. One Future, the 2026 Annual Coordination Meeting placed regional partnership at the center of the conversation. The theme carried a simple and powerful message: the Caribbean shares many of the same challenges and aspirations, and through one shared framework, countries and the United Nations can work together toward a stronger future.Participants also discussed the strategic direction of the MSDCF 2027-2031, which is designed to respond to the Caribbean’s evolving development realities and accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Framework is organized around two Strategic Pillars. The first, Economic and Ecosystem Resilience, focuses on economic diversification, skills development, and strengthening ecosystem resilience. The second, Future Ready People and Empowered Communities, focuses on integrated services and addressing crime and violence prevention. Together, these pillars speak to stronger economies, protected ecosystems, better access to services, safer communities, and a region better prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.Through the presentation of the MSDCF 2027-2031, Caribbean governments and the United Nations reaffirmed their commitment to national ownership, regional cooperation, and meaningful results for people, communities, and future generations.The focus now turns to implementation planning, coordination, and delivery under the new Framework, ensuring that regional priorities translate into practical action at the national level across countries.The meeting concluded with a shared commitment, grounded in a common vision, to collective action and partnership in advancing sustainable development across the Caribbean. About the United Nations Caribbean:
The United Nations Caribbean brings together UN agencies, funds and programmes working with governments and regional institutions across the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean. Through the MSDCF, the UN works as one system to support national development priorities, advance the Sustainable Development Goals, and respond to shared regional challenges through coordinated, people centered and results focused cooperation. Media Contacts
Lisa Stanford Jones
Programme Coordinator Associate for the MSDCF
UN Resident Coordinator Office for Belize
lisa.stanfordjones@un.orgCindy Novelo
Foreign Service Officer
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
belizemfa@btl.net 

The EU-funded ILO PROSPER project has moved from planning to action in southern Belize, with field visits and community presentations across Maya villages. These engagements are helping to ground project interventions in lived realities –listening first and building solutions together.PROSPER – Participation, Ownership, and Sustainable Progress for Economic Resilience – is a four-year initiative (2024–2028) implemented by the ILO in partnership with the Government of Belize and funded by the European Union. It aims to strengthen livelihoods and decent work opportunities in 15 Indigenous communities by supporting two priority value chains: tourism and cacao agroforestry.Community voices drive the agendaIn late March 2026, the ILO PROSPER team, led by National Implementation and Monitoring Officer Kylah Ciego, visited communities including San Pedro Columbia, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Pueblo Viejo, Na Luum Ca, Blue Creek, and institutions such as ITVET and the Tu’mil’kin Learning Center.At a community meeting in Blue Creek attended by approximately 30 farmers, women, youth, business owners and village leaders, participants shared candid feedback. Cacao farmers raised concerns about crop disease, limited technical assistance, poor market access, and price fluctuations. Women entrepreneurs highlighted the need for skills training and cooperative development. Community members also called for practical, hands-on training delivered by experienced local practitioners.“The community sees real potential in both tourism and agriculture, especially cacao,” ILO project team lead noted. “But there are significant barriers – financing, organization, and technical capacity – that the project must address alongside local stakeholders.”Respecting Indigenous rightsA distinctive feature of PROSPER is its commitment to the Maya Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) protocol. This protocol, formalized following a landmark 2015 Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruling that recognized Mopan and Q’eqchi Maya land rights, requires that the Government and third parties consult with Maya communities before proceeding with initiatives that may affect their land, territory and resources. It establishes that communities should be:Free to make decisions without pressure or coercionPriorly consulted before activities beginInformed through clear, accessible information about the projectAble to give or withhold consent based on their own decision-making processesThe Office of Indigenous Affairs oversees compliance with the protocol. To advance formal consultations, the project has officially requested the Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development and Local Government, to engage the Indigenous Peoples Affairs Office to facilitate the FPIC process for ten communities now assessed as ready for project engagement. Culture and resilienceBeyond economic discussions, the field visits coincided with vibrant cultural activities. Team members observed Deer Dance rehearsals and Maya Day celebrations in Blue Creek, underscoring the richness of Maya traditions and local craftsmanship – cultural heritage assets that the project’s tourism component aims to support and promote sustainably.Next stepsThe PROSPER team will continue engagement with farmers, women’s groups, youth and business stakeholders. By combining community engagement, skills development and market support with strong safeguards such as FPIC, the initiative is laying the foundation for resilient local economies that are both culturally grounded and economically viable.

When disasters strike in Belize, the full picture of their impact on people, livelihoods, infrastructure, and the environment can be difficult to capture. Recognizing this challenge, national institutions came together to explore how quality data, accompanied by better data governance, shared standards, and coordination, could help the country more consistently record hazardous events and their associated losses and damages. The National Workshop on the DELTA Resilience Disaster and Hazardous Events, Losses and Damages Tracking and Analysis - organised with technical guidance from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) - brought together key national institutions on 11 February 2026 to discuss improvements to the way disaster losses and damages are documented, tracked and shared across the country. Workshop discussions focussed on how such improvements could support prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery through evidence-based decision-making, risk informed investments, and better national reporting on global agendas such as the Sendai Framework, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). As part of these discussions, participants were introduced to DELTA Resilience, a tool to register and monitor losses and damages, which supports countries by offering updated methodologies, common standards, and practical functionalities for tracking both hazardous events and their impacts. It was presented to help institutions better understand what approaches and technologies are available to strengthen disaster loss and damage monitoring, and how these can complement existing national practices.In his remarks to the Workshop, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Belize, Raul Salazar, endorsed the need for improved historical impact records to reinforce national efforts at strengthening probabilistic hazard and risk assessments, and set thresholds for early warning systems that can support resilient recovery processes and overall preparedness. “No model is better than the data that support it,” he stressed. Stronger loss and damage information contributes directly to Belize’s progress in advancing inclusive, multihazard early warning systems under the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. At the heart of the shift is the recognition that disasters do not affect everyone equally. Disaggregated data, by geography, sector, sex, age, disability, helps reveal who is most at risk. As Captain Daniel Mendez, National Emergency Coordinator at NEMO, emphasized, “Keeping track of hazardous events and the losses and damages they cause gives us the evidence to prioritize where preparedness, response, and recovery investments are most needed.” Tracking losses at this level helps the country make decisions rooted in real impacts rather than assumptions.Equally important is the collaborative approach behind this work. In Belize, the disaster risk management system is led by NEMO but relies on many institutions working together, from technical agencies and environmental and climate authorities to academic institutions and local experts. Disaster risk reduction is a shared responsibility, and each institution holds a unique piece of the country’s disaster risk data landscape. Bringing these actors together supports the development of a more coherent national picture of loss and damage. Shared systems reduce duplication, improve data quality, and strengthen coordination across ministries. This also supports Belize’s reporting to global frameworks using information that already exists across national institutions.A more complete picture of losses, including those outside economic sectors and those triggered by slow onset events, also supports access to climate and resilience financing. The country’s Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) Policy and Implementation Plan highlights the importance of clear, documented evidence of disaster impacts to justify investments in preparedness, adaptation, and recovery. Better data helps Belize make stronger cases for support through loss and damage finance, adaptation funding, and risk‑transfer and insurance mechanisms. As Captain Mendez underlined, robust databases “allow us to identify systemic vulnerabilities across sectors and geographies,” helping Belize anticipate cascading risks rather than simply react to them.Sustaining this shift requires ongoing political commitment and strong governance. Keeping a national loss and damage database up to date, clarifying institutional roles, and consistently logging every event (large or small) are key steps toward strengthening prevention and preparedness. The UN Resident Coordinator highlighted how this effort also improves data governance overall, creating a shared evidence base that supports decision-making, planning, and resource allocation. Tracking losses ensures the country learns from each event and uses that knowledge to protect lives, livelihoods, and development gains. In the words of the Resident Coordinator, “for disaster risk to be managed, it must first be understood, and for this, measuring is a mandatory step.” Belize is making that step, and in doing so, is better equipped to safeguard what matters most. _______________ This work is supported by the European Union–Caribbean Resilience Programme (EU-CA-RES), implemented jointly by the European Union, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, and UNDRR. It is part of the Belize Inclusive Resilience in Safe and SMART Spaces Joint Programme, supported by the UN Joint SDG Fund, EU-CA-RES, and the Strengthening Enabling Environment for Strengthening Multi Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) in Belize, supported by the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative.

The Government of Belize and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) convened its 5th Joint National Steering Committee Meeting, co-chaired by H.E. Amalia Mai, CEO in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Culture, and Mr. Raul Salazar, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Belize and El Salvador. The Joint Steering Committee provides strategic oversight and guidance for the United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNMSDCF) 2022-2026, which covers 22 countries in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean and was adopted by Belize in December 2021.The meeting facilitated an exchange between Heads of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) across several government line ministries around key areas of strategic cooperation. During this dialogue, the Government outlined its strategic priorities under Plan Belize 2.0, which is linked to the Pact for the Future adopted by United Nations Member States in 2024. The meeting also endorsed re-alignment of UNMSDCF 2022-2026 with Belize’s Medium-term Development Strategy (MTDS) 2022-2026.  A key agenda item was the UNCT’s presentation of the United Nations Country Results Report (CRR) on the Country Implementation Plan (CIP) for 2024-2025.  The CIP includes 161 projects to be implemented by 15 UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes working in Belize with an estimated budget of US $47 million. The UNCT also led a discussion on the Funding Compact 2.0 including opportunities to expand programming and partnerships in Belize.Mr. Salazar reaffirmed the commitment of the UN Country Team to continue its partnership with the Government on advancing sustainable development in Belize. "In the 2025 context, the UN Secretary General’s call for global unity remains more critical than ever to leave no one behind and achieve the SDGs by 2030. As the UN marks its 80th anniversary this year, it is both a time to celebrate key milestones and achievements, but also to innovate and adapt in a changing global environment. The 2024 Voluntary National Review (VNR) on all 17 SDGs shows that Belize has made progress in several areas including a reduction of multidimensional poverty from 36.5% in 2021 to 26.4% in 2023 (SDG1), reduction of unemployment rate from 13.7% to 2.1% in 2024 (SDG 8), and conserving 30% of Belize’s ocean space under the Blue Bond (SDG13 & 14) to name a few examples. The UN Country Team stands ready to continue to support Belize in achieving its Medium-Term Development Strategy and SDG acceleration by 2030.”  The meeting closed with an exchange around the International Cooperation Council (ICC) established by the Government in 2023, the UN’s 80th anniversary commemoration in Belize, and the roadmap for the new UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNMSDCF) 2027-2031 currently in the planning and development stage.  Contact:
Mirsy Ponce
Executive Associate
Office of the UN Resident Coordinator
United Nations in Belize
Phone: +501-822-2171
Email: Mirsy.Ponce@un.org