‘All hands on deck’ in Antigua and Barbuda as small island States chart course to resilient prosperity

Photo: UNDP/Silke von Brockhausen. Retrieved from news.un.org

The Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) will bring together governments, the UN, civil society, the private sector and leading youth voices to turn new ideas into action, raise new pledges of support and discuss the key challenges that lie ahead for the vulnerable group of nations.

There are 39 SIDS, from conference hosts Antigua and Barbuda to Vanuatu in the South Pacific, which were recognised as a special case for support during the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the game changing first Earth Summit.

They are located in some of the world’s most disaster-prone regions, acutely vulnerable to sea level rise, climate shocks and natural disasters. SIDS have small domestic markets and are vulnerable to economic shocks and downturns.