Step by step, Montserrat and other OECS Countries are strengthening their capacity to tackle multidimensional poverty. The OECS Commission, in partnership with the Caribbean Development Bank, marked the conclusion of the updated Enhanced Country Poverty Assessment (eCPA) Project during a conference held from August 5 to 6, 2025. Minister of Health, Dr. the honourable Ingrid Buffonge represented Montserrat at the conference in St. Lucia. The two-year second phase of the eCPA Project fulfilled the provisions of the OECS’ Revised Treaty, which created an economic union that facilitates social cohesion and economic development and builds resilience. Participating countries spanned all nine English-speaking OECS Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. The project underscores the OECS Commission’s dedication to comprehensively understanding and addressing the complex dimensions of poverty within the OECS. It does so by addressing poverty in an informed and targeted way through the collection of critical data and by using that evidence to develop, guide and shape impactful interventions. The eCPA collected data through the Living Conditions and Household Budget Surveys, and the national availability of census data, from Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands. The use of participatory data collection processes ensured the voices of communities were heard. The project also provided capacity-development training and workshops across the Member States to strengthen national capacity to analyse poverty and accelerate the development of evidence-based interventions. The High-Level eCPA Forum convened Ministers for Social Development, Health, Education and related portfolios, Permanent Secretaries and Senior Advisors, Heads of National Statistics Office, Representatives from development partners, eCPA Technical Specialists and Consultants, as well as OECS Commission and CDB leads.
