With the Caribbean widely believed to have been the hardest hit region by the still rampaging COVID-19 pandemic, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) late last week finalised a loan agreement with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to provide funding for a social protection initiative targeting citizens most affected by the pandemic.
The US$25.5 million loan is, according to a regional media report, designed to ensure the maintenance of “basic quality of life standards for vulnerable persons in the immediate period and during the economic recovery of Trinidad and Tobago.”
There are two components to the IDB loan, namely, the expansion of additional/emergency cash transfers to beneficiaries of three existing programmes delivered by the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services (MSDFS), namely, a Food Support Programme, Senior Citizen Pensions, and Disability Assistance Grant.