The newly launched Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub and Centre of Excellence will be critical in saving lives, said Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley.

After the launch at Seawell, Christ Church, yesterday, she told the media Barbados was in a prime position to offer regional assistance in times of disaster.

“This is about getting food and supplies, critical supplies, pharmaceuticals, etcetera, to persons within 48-72 hours of a major disaster. But it isn’t only limited to emergency responses for disasters, it is also going to be for humanitarian crises.

“Geography matters, and because Barbados is the most easterly, a judgement was made that given the fact that we are less likely to be hit than most, this is probably the safest place,” she said.

Mottley said places like Panama and Miami were both more than a thousand miles away, so it was the “perfect conclusion” to have the hub here, especially as the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) were also located here.

“This is about saving lives, let’s be very, very clear. There is the utterly devastating situation in Haiti, where more than a million people have been displaced in recent times and where almost half the population is deemed to be suffering from food insecurity. For us in Barbados, that is a concept that we are not even familiar with or aware of.

“[We have to ensure] that this is not just high-level academics and policy, but that it is also now about making sure that food can get to people. A warehouse on its own will not do that, and therefore, the connectivity, the digital connectivity is utterly critical as well,” she said.

The 2 500 square foot building will be a hub to distribute supplies to the region after disasters. The United Nations World Food Programme will initially run it, but it will be turned over to CDEMA in due course. (CA)