Emergency Response Coordination Platform (ERCP) Virtual training
Tuesday, 15 April 2025

Salutations 
•    Dr Wayne Henry, Director-General, Planning Institute of Jamaica 
•    Ms Barbara Scott, Deputy Director General
•    Team members of other Ministries, Departments and Agencies
•    Members of the media 
•    Other distinguished guests

Good morning. In a time when multiple and overlapping crises such as climate change, pandemics and other global disruptions are threatening the development gains of Small Island Developing States, Jamaica’s foresight in proactively bolstering national crisis resilience is to be commended. 

At the height of the COVID crisis, Jamaica wisely determined that a vital component of this resilience mechanism is crisis response and recovery coordination systems, focusing on coordinating the flow of incoming resources to recovery priorities – and applicable to any type of emergency.

Five years ago, UNDP supported PIOJ in building out such a crisis response mechanism, by financing its first digital Emergency Response Coordination Platform (ERCP).  The 2020/2021 iteration of the ERCP was geared to pandemic response and reflected PIOJ’s vision for a crisis response tracker capable of coordinating multiple demands and inflows of financial support, goods and services across government. 

Today, Jamaica has achieved yet another milestone following comprehensive updates, which has bolstered Jamaica’s coordination function, and increased efficiencies in resource allocation and data availability.  UNDP has been pleased to support once again, aligned to the Prime Minister’s call for the ERCP to serve as a key tool for coordination during emergencies.  This important mandate has shifted the platform into a more centralized and established role in crisis coordination, underscoring its positive performance and potential.  

I understand that the latest updates have greatly improved the efficiency, accuracy and transparency of the platform, including automatic generation of emergency response plans digitally curated from approved requests and pledges. This commendable development is a gamechanger which can replace the process of manually preparing those emergency plans.   

ERCP and its latest upgrades marks a pivotal step toward advancing a digital, inclusive, and collaborative approach to emergency response, ensuring that ministries and development partners can act swiftly and cohesively in times of crisis.  By strategically deploying digital technology to facilitate crisis response, Jamaica is in a better position to deliver essential public service and information where needed, with the aim of saving lives, livelihoods and economic activity, while preserving development gains. 

Our commitment remains resolute in this time of unprecedented crisis: UNDP stands ready to support Jamaica in advancing your crisis resilience agenda, leveraging our considerable knowledge network expertise and decades of resource mobilization.  

UNDP works with local partners on all these issues, supporting over 2,000 projects in SIDS across the world, with USD 400 million per year to achieve global and local goals of resilience. To this end, we will very soon also launch a new UNDP regional DRR programme for the Caribbean, with financial backing by the EU, in which Jamaica will of course be a key participant. This will include a focus on local governance, disaster financing and digitization. 

UNDP remains committed to supporting Jamaica’s Vision 2030 journey and I wish you a successful event today around the new ERCP. 
 

Thank you.