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Democracy and Governance: Caribbean Regional
The Caribbean Region consists of 23 relatively small independent islands,
dependent territories, and sovereign states, ranging in size from 91 sq km Anguilla to 214,970 sq km
Guyana. Most share a common history of European colonization and mono-crop plantation economies,
giving rise to a number of developmental similarities and strong correlations among their current
economic problems. Their small size, isolation from markets, susceptibility to natural disasters, and
general ecological vulnerability make the Caribbean a special case for development assistance.
The rule of law program is ensuring that the justice infrastructure is sufficiently modernized to improve
efficiency and applicability of important legal tools for economic growth. USAID assistance is introducing
and improving technology in the judicial system in such areas as case and court reporting. It has also
established a regional legislative drafting facility to draft and revise critical laws for market integration, security, and HIV/AIDS. The battle against HIV/AIDS is being carried out throughout the wider Caribbean
through a broad-based, multi-donor funded program to enhance capacities for prevention as well as care
and treatment. The program includes elements to support both public and private sector activities in the
region in an effort to strengthen HIV/AIDS non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and NGO networks
and to increase the governments' capacity to fight the spread of the disease. All of these programs have
the active interest and participation of Caribbean governments.
(Excerpted from the 2005 Congressional Budget Justification for Caribbean Regional)
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