The Antigua and Barbuda delegation with OFCF President Shimada and his colleague View photo »

The Antigua and Barbuda delegation visiting Japan has been making a case for developed countries and international donor organizations to use the Vulnerability Index as an indicator to qualify countries for aid packages.

Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister the Honourable Harold Lovell during a Luncheon Meeting with the President of the Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation (OFCF) Mr. Shimada, said that Antigua and Barbuda does not qualify for numerous aid packages because current World Bank indicators put the country in a middle-income bracket due to a relatively high per capita income which is at US$12, 000.

"We feel that this is a misleading index and that another basis of calculation should be used in the determination of the level of assistance given to us by international donors. We support the development and use of a vulnerability index," said Minister Lovell.

The development of the Vulnerability Index was spearheaded by the Small Island Developing States SIDS and after extensive analytical work and discussions at several high-level meetings in 1999, the Commonwealth Secretariat produced a Commonwealth Vulnerability Index which is used as a policy instrument in determining assistance requirements.

Minister Lovell pointed out that the index indicates that irrespective of income levels, small states are generally more vulnerable than other developing countries. He noted that the index takes into consideration issues that are of particular concern to small states and over which they have no control, such as their vulnerability to external economic and environmental shocks, the transitional costs of integration into the rapidly globalizing economy, the changing international trading system, susceptibility to environmental change and natural disasters, and security concerns.

The Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister told the Japanese executives that in assessing Antigua and Barbuda's eligibility for economic assistance, his government encourages Japan and other developed countries to consider the use of the Vulnerability Index.

Digital photos by Maurice F. Merchant