Emergency Response Centre Opens in Barbados

Just in time for the beginning of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1, a new emergency response centre is up and running in the Caribbean. On Monday, May 26, 2025, the Caribbean Regional Logistics Centre and Centre of Excellence officially opened at the Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados.

This center is strategically located to decrease response times by seven days and can hold 1,300 pallets and has 112 cubic meters of cold storage. 

Referring to a disaster response, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said, “If you have to wait on [supplies] to come from Panama, that's 1,200 miles away. If you have to bring [supplies] from Miami, that's 1,500 miles away... this is just a perfect conclusion.”

Mottley continued, “This [centre] will be saving lives. Let’s be very, very clear, this is about getting food and supplies to those who need it much quicker.” 

Downloadable SOTS and B-roll 

This initiative marks a significant milestone in the 11-year collaboration between the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The organizations are committed to enhancing disaster preparedness and response in the Caribbean, a region frequently impacted by natural disasters. WFP and the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) oversee the centre, with significant support from World Food Program USA (US$2.3 million) and the Church ($2 million).

Lola Castro, WFP’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the new centre will be a significant boon to disaster victims.

“One thing that keeps me awake at night is — after a hurricane or earthquake hits, how long are the people going to be underwater, without shelter, without a bed, without being able to eat?” Castro said. “How many days are we going to let them be there, especially women and children? This centre will be the solution. With this centre, they will only have to wait 24, 48 or 72 hours before they will have shelter, water filters and food.”

A Dual Purpose for Regional Resilience

The centre will serve two critical functions.

1. Logistics Warehouse: It acts as a central warehouse to store disaster relief materials, equipment, and supplies, facilitating a swift response to natural disasters across the Caribbean.
2. Centre of Excellence: It functions as a training facility to enhance the disaster response capabilities of national disaster management bodies and humanitarian organizations. Workshops and simulations will foster innovation, knowledge exchange, and equip responders with essential skills.

Elder Claude Gamiette, an Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, emphasized the Church’s deep commitment to humanitarian efforts.

“The Church has the desire to help all the people. We are all children of Heavenly Father, and the mandate of the Church is to do as Christ would do,” Elder Gamiette said. “Preparedness allows us to not only respond to our needs but also to the needs of others. The better we are prepared, the better we will be able to serve others.”

Prime Minister Mottley expressed gratitude to the government of Barbados, the World Food Programme, the Church of Jesus Christ and others for their role in developing the centre. She also highlighted the philanthropic approach the Church takes to meeting humanitarian needs.

“We have not sufficiently fused the importance of philanthropy, whether that philanthropy is from sources such as this wonderful Church has as it continues to see its evangelical mission not just feeding the souls of its people but ensuring that the bodies of people can be kept whole,” Mottley said. “May others follow [the Church’s] lead, in helping the World Food Programme fill this warehouse.”

DOWNLOAD

Strategic Location and Real-World Impact

“The ability to pre-position goods and equipment before a disaster is invaluable,” added Wilred Abrahams, minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs for Barbados. “In the aftermath of a disaster, it’s not the time to start coordinating. You need to coordinate and put your policies [and] your procedures in place before and know exactly what is available to you so you can respond immediately. And this [centre] is a critical part of that.”

The facility was built in Barbados due to its ideal climate and geographic location, strategically close to potential climate-related events for efficient storage and distribution of vital materials.

Elizabeth Riley, CDEMA Executive Director, noted that CDEMA has been activated for 19 events in the past 25 years, with 84% due to meteorological hazards. She cited last year’s Hurricane Beryl, the earliest storm on record, as an example of climate change's uncertainties and the logistical complexities it presents. Even before its official completion, parts of the centre were utilized to aid residents impacted by Hurricane Beryl in Carriacou and the Union Islands.

With a capacity of 1,300 pallets and 112 cubic meters of cold storage, it can decrease response times by seven days by prepositioning supplies near high-risk areas, avoiding sourcing delays. The Centre of Excellence, within the Regional Logistics Centre, will enhance disaster preparedness and response in the Caribbean. It will host training facilities, bringing together national disaster management bodies, humanitarian organizations, and logistics experts to share practices, improve coordination, and build response capacity. Workshops and simulations will foster innovation and knowledge exchange, equipping responders with essential skills.

Castro said this centre is “more than a warehouse.” She concluded, “It’s a place where all the countries in the region, all the [collaborators] in the Caribbean, will put the assets that will help to save lives.”

The opening event concluded with a plaque unveiling and reception.