On September 14, 2021 Mr. Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean met with representatives of the Platform of the World Summit of Afro-descendants, the Sustainable Development and Climate Change (SUDECC, Inc.) Consulting Firm and the Central American Black Organization (CABO).
It is the first in-person meeting that Mr. Felipe Jaramillo launched in Washington, DC with representatives of the over 150 million Afro-descendants from Latin America and the Caribbean since his appointment as Vice President almost 13 months ago. The meeting followed all the COVID-19 long distance protocols.
During the meeting, participants provided first-hand knowledge of recent events impacting Afro-descendant populations, including the challenges following severe storms that hit Afro-descendant populations in the region. They also discussed expected measurable outcomes of the existing International Financial Institutions in supporting Afro-descendant populations, particularly after hurricanes Eta and Iota and COVD-I9, and agreed to identify partners for the establishment of the “Afro-descendant Development Trust Fund.”
Participants highlighted the efforts that need to be executed to mainstream the needs of Afro-descendant populations in international organizations through regional investment plans and country strategies, and identified potential areas of collaboration moving forward.
Participants included Dr. Jerry Francisco Sabio, Mayor of the Municipality of La Ceiba, Honduras, Gregoria Jiménez, President of the Ethnic Community Development Organization (ODECO), Mr. Pastor Elías Murillo Martínez, former Vice President of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Mr. Julio Guity-Guevara, LL.M, Managing Director of SUDECC, Inc, Ms. Palmira Ríos Gonzales, Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, and Mr. Igor Correa of the Afro-descendant Permanent Council of the Americas (COPAFRO), Ms. Cecilia Moreno Rojas, Director of the Center for Panamanian Women, among other members.
During the meeting, Mr. Carlos Felipe Jaramillo made a historical institutional commitment of supporting the agenda for Recognition, Justice, and Development of People of African Descent.
The World Bank meeting with Afro-descendant representatives from Latin America and the Caribbean builds on the commitments made by the United Nations Population Fund and the Government of Costa Rica (under the leadership of Vice President Epsy Campbell) during the recent commemoration of the International Day for People of African descent.