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 At the 2026 Annual Coordination Meeting held virtually on 16 June 2026 in Belize City, the United Nations System and Caribbean governments introduced a new framework for guiding their development cooperation over the next five years. The Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (MSDCF) for 2027-2031 was the subject of a hybrid regional meeting that included Resident Coordinators and government ministers, as well as representatives of UN agencies and development partners from across the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. During the open floor session, representatives from Grenada, Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the British Virgin Islands, Jamaica and Belize each expressed their governments' broad acceptance of and commitment to the MSDCF 2027–2031. Countries pledged national ownership, called for stronger data systems, and welcomed the framework's sharper, more catalytic focus as a decisive improvement over the previous cycle. THE FOUR OUTCOMES: A Sharper Framework for Caribbean Resilience This MSDCF marks a decisive shift from broad aspiration to focused, measurable action, built around four interconnected outcomes that address the Caribbean's most urgent development priorities.Outcome One — Economic Diversification & Inclusive EconomiesCaribbean economies must grow beyond narrow sectors and legacy dependencies. This outcome targets small producers, women entrepreneurs, youth, and indigenous communities, helping them participate in green, blue, orange, and circular value chains. The UN will invest in digital public infrastructure for micro-enterprises, regional trade integration, climate-resilient food systems, inclusive finance, and future-ready skills — so that by 2031, economic opportunity is no longer concentrated in the hands of a few.Outcome Two — Resilience to ShocksWith 80 per cent more extreme weather events since 1980 and over 70 per cent of critical infrastructure in high-risk coastal zones, climate vulnerability is the region’s defining challenge. This outcome embeds anticipatory, risk-informed development into national systems – strengthening governance, early warning data, climate finance, community-level preparedness, and nature-based solutions. The 2025 response to Hurricane Melissa, which mobilised over USD 100 million in combined support, demonstrated exactly the coordinated action this outcome seeks to institutionalise.Outcome Three — Integrated Social ServicesAgeing populations, migration pressures, and recurring climate shocks are straining already constrained social systems across the region. This outcome focuses on building health, education, and social protection institutions that remain functional before, during, and after crises, not improvised in the heat of an emergency. Digital civil registration systems, inclusive life-course services, and shock-responsive social protection will ensure that vulnerable groups from early childhood through older age are reached, counted, and protected.Outcome Four — Resilience to Crime and Violence  Crime-related losses cost the Caribbean an estimated 3.83 per cent of regional GDP annually, and the impacts fall hardest on women, young men, migrants, and marginalised communities. This outcome calls for a shift from fragmented, reactive policing toward coordinated, prevention-first, community-led action. It addresses transnational crime networks, strengthens justice institutions, and in a notable recognition of emerging needs, elevates mental health and trauma-informed services as central to breaking cycles of violence across generations.“Behind every indicator in this framework is a human being, and behind every target, a family, behind every outcome, a life. So let us never lose sight of that, and let us never stop until every one of these lives is better for having been here.” — Dennis Zulu, UN Resident Coordinator, Multi-Country Office (MCO) Jamaica, Incoming Chair of the Regional Steering Committee  From Alignment to ExecutionWhat distinguishes the MSDCF 2027–2031 from its predecessors is not its ambition — it is its discipline. The previous framework was acknowledged as relevant but too broad, spreading resources thinly and making it difficult to demonstrate collective impact. The new cycle responds with fewer but clearer outcomes, stronger links between action and results, and renewed Country Implementation Plans that governments must actively own and review.During the meeting, leadership of the Regional Steering Committee was formally passed during the meeting from Resident Coordinator Raul Salazar, who had guided the consultative process among multiple Caribbean nations, to RC Dennis Zulu of Jamaica, who will steer implementation through the framework’s first cycle. The handover, marked by Belizean cultural performances, underscored that behind every policy document lie real communities with history, identity, and a stake in the future.RC Salazar closed by reminding delegates that contributions from governments, civil society, development partners, and UN agencies had helped ensure the framework remains grounded in the needs, priorities, and aspirations of the region. He called on all present to carry forward the theme of the meeting - One Caribbean, One Framework, One Future - as the region moves from preparation to implementation.