Small Island Developing States Position Paper and Call to Action

About

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) consisting of fifty-seven (57) countries, areas, and territories, include some of the most vulnerable countries on the planet. Even though they are a heterogeneous group located across the Caribbean, the Pacific, the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea - SIDS are inherently and uniquely vulnerable to exogenous shocks owing to, inter alia, their small size, geographical remoteness, highly dispersed populations, the limited scale and undiversified nature of their economies, high dependence on external markets, extreme exposure to disasters and natural hazards, and the effects of climate change. Compounding global crises including the COVID-19 pandemic have considerably slowed SIDS progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and placed unprecedented pressures on their already constrained resources.

Children in SIDS are particularly vulnerable, facing risks including poverty and social inequity, health, food, and nutrition insecurity, child protection, mental health and psychosocial well-being risks, educational disruptions, displacement and migration challenges, and denial of full access to resources and opportunities.