Belize has launched its Basic Needs Trust Fund Eleventh Programme (BNTF 11), reaffirming a shared commitment to reducing poverty, strengthening community resilience and improving the quality of life for vulnerable Belizeans.
‘The Basic Needs Trust Fund has consistently advanced several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. When communities gain access to essential infrastructure and services, they are better positioned to improve livelihoods, build resilience, and break cycles of poverty that can persist across generations,’ said Minister of State in the Ministry of Economic Transformation, Dr. Osmond Martinez.
‘You cannot reduce inequality unless development intentionally reaches vulnerable populations. That is precisely why the Basic Needs Trust Fund remains so relevant,’ he added.
Under BNTF 11, Belize has been allocated more than US$5.2 million to support six sub-projects including four in education and two in water for the four-year project cycle.
The programme launch also celebrated more than two decades of BNTF’s impact in Belize and showcased stories from beneficiaries whose lives have been transformed through investments in education, water and sanitation, and community infrastructure.
‘For more than 45 years, BNTF has translated the promise of poverty reduction into tangible results for communities across the Caribbean. Here in Belize, the programme has strengthened schools, expanded access to safe water and sanitation, improved community infrastructure and created opportunities for people to learn, work and thrive,’ said Dr. Isaac Solomon, Vice President (Operations), at the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
‘Through BNTF 11, we are renewing our commitment to building stronger, more resilient and more inclusive communities,’ said Solomon.
The BNTF 11 was launched in partnership with the CDB and the Belize Social Investment Fund (BSIF) and attended by various stakeholders.
Over the past 25 years, BNTF has financed 79 community sub-projects in Belize, representing investments of approximately US$23.79 million. These include 47 projects supporting education, human resource development and livelihoods, 32 projects focused on water and sanitation systems, and three projects that improved community access and drainage infrastructure.
Solomon said that the programme’s success has always been rooted in strong partnerships between governments, communities and development partners.
‘Community infrastructure delivers its greatest impact when it is paired with opportunities for people to earn, learn and thrive. By placing communities at the centre of project design and implementation, BNTF ensures that investments are responsive, inclusive and sustainable,’ he said.
BNTF 11 forms part of CDB’s broader commitment to reducing poverty and transforming lives through resilient, sustainable and inclusive development. Across the Caribbean, the programme continues to support investments that improve education, water and sanitation, community infrastructure and livelihoods while strengthening countries’ capacity to respond to climate change, natural hazards and other development challenges.