The National Poverty Reduction Programme (NPRP) on March 4 and 5 convened its 2026 annual capacity-building workshop, bringing together the dedicated cadre of professionals who drive Jamaica’s poverty policy and project implementation. Under the theme “Emergency Response in Project Management: Preparing Jamaica for Tomorrow, Today,” the two-day event challenged participants to move beyond routine delivery and embrace a model of shock-responsive programming. The workshop was built on the understanding that poverty reduction and emergency readiness are inseparable, as disasters disproportionately deepen the vulnerabilities of the elderly, children, and those in hard-to-reach rural communities.

International insights were provided by Head of Office Mr Dana Sacchetti and Programme Policy Officer Mr Lorenzo Nerantzis of the United Nations World Food Programme, Caribbean Multi-Country Office who offered a global lens on logistics and social protection.

Grounding these concepts in the Jamaican context, Senior Director, Project Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Mrs Pauline Brown and the Director, Disaster, Rehabilitation and Welfare Management, Ministry of Labour and Social Security Mrs Jacqueline Shepherd delivered critical local perspectives on disaster rehabilitation.

To equip the cadre with practical tools, technical sessions on risk management and business continuity were led by Senior Director, Public Sector Modernisation Division; Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Mrs Danielle Jones-Cox, alongside the Manager Enterprise Risk, Corporate Services Division PIOJ Mr Waynewright Atkinstall and Technical Specialist, Socio-Economic Development, Community Renewal Programme (CRP), PIOJ Ms Charmaine Brimm.

Reflecting on the lessons of Hurricane Melissa, the proceedings moved from strategic framing to scenario-based exercises. These sessions reinforced the necessity of anticipatory planning, inter-agency coordination, and the use of reliable beneficiary data. By the close of the workshop, the policy and project teams had refined their approach to rapid needs assessment and beneficiary segmentation. This collaborative effort succeeded in deepening the technical capacity of the NPRP team, ensuring that as we work to reduce poverty, our systems are robust enough to protect Jamaica’s development gains against any future shock.