CARICOM, UN Push Public Health Approach to Crime Prevention
Regional leaders and international agencies are seeking to reshape the Caribbean’s response to crime and violence through a new strategy that treats insecurity as a public health and development issue rather than solely a policing matter.
Terrance Drew
The Caribbean Community, the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme jointly unveiled two regional policy documents during meetings in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis, on May 21 and 22. The CARICOM UNDP Diagnostic Document and the Proposed CARICOM UN Framework for Action are intended to guide a coordinated regional response focused on prevention and long term social stability.
Government officials, academics, civil society groups, development agencies and regional institutions participated in the discussions, which centred on reducing violence through cooperation across sectors including education, health, justice and community development.
The Diagnostic Document compiles research, crime trends and regional data supporting a public health approach to violence prevention. The Framework for Action outlines how CARICOM governments can implement policies already endorsed by Heads of Government while adapting programmes to national circumstances.
St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew, who currently chairs CARICOM, said meaningful progress would depend heavily on political commitment.
“Nothing can really be done unless there is political will,” Drew stated. “To see CARICOM and the United Nations now throwing their weight behind the preventative approach for the Caribbean, I am hopeful because I know this will work.”
He added that successful implementation could produce significant improvements over the next decade.
CARICOM Assistant Secretary General for Human and Social Development Alison Drayton said regional governments could no longer tackle security threats through isolated national responses.
“This launch represents a pivotal transition from shared concern to collective, strategic action,” she said, adding that the initiative seeks to address poverty, exclusion and limited opportunities as drivers of crime.
Stephanie Ziebell, Deputy UNDP Resident Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, said the documents would help policymakers move beyond reacting to violence after it occurs.
“It is not a one size fits all blueprint, but rather a flexible framework that countries can adapt to their own realities,” she said.
UN Resident Coordinator Johanna Kazanna said Caribbean governments increasingly recognise that enforcement measures alone cannot deliver lasting reductions in violence.
The Basseterre meeting is also expected to shape discussions at the upcoming Third CARICOM Regional Symposium on Crime and Violence and guide development of a Regional Framework for 2026 to 2030.
