In Miami, Clinton To Launch Action Network Focused On Disaster Recovery In The Caribbean

WLRN Public Media | By Leslie Ovalle

Published April 2, 2018 at 5:40 PM EDT

Former President Bill Clinton hugs a resident living at the William Rivera Betancourt Vocational School which was turned into an emergency shelter for families affected by the impact of Hurricane Maria, in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017.

Former President Bill Clinton has picked the University of Miami to launch a new Global Initiative Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery in the Caribbean, which will focus on developing solutions that address hurricane recovery needs in the region.

The Clinton Foundation's intention is to secure immediate and long-term aid to Caribbean islands that were devastated by catastrophic Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year.

More than 300 leaders in businesses, government and non-governmental organizations have been invited to a meeting at the University of Miami in Coral Gables Tuesday in hopes of securing a commitment to action on health care, housing, clean energy education, and climate resiliency in the region.

Among the participants are Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Irwin LaRocque, as well as the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Kenneth Mapp, and Jenniffer González-Colón, resident commissioner of Puerto Rico.

The event is by invitation only, but it will be available to the public via Facebook Live.