The Bahamas is one of the countries in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region most exposed to natural disasters, having registered 400 fatalities and estimated damages of nearly 7 billion dollars in the last 20 years. According to the Index of Governance and Public Policies in Disaster Risk Management (iGOPP) developed by Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and endorsed by the United Nations, the Bahamas’ score was only 22%, below the 33% average for countries in the LAC region.

The Bahamas has received financial support from IDB through a 160-million dollars loan with the aim of improving its natural disaster risk governance. The loan has an amortization period of 20 years and a grace period of 5.5 years. The operation seeks to create better governance conditions for implementing public policies for risk identification and reduction, disaster preparedness, recovery, and financial protection.