 The sixth meeting of the OECS Council of Ministers for Human and Social Development was held virtually on October 20th, 2020, against the backdrop of a global pandemic. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, ECCB, revealed that economic activity in the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union is projected to contract between 5% and 7% in real terms in 2020, accompanied by a sharp rise in unemployment. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a growth rate of 3.3% was forecasted for the OECS region. The meeting was held under the theme, No One Left Behind, Empowering People and Building Resilient Communities. Minister for Equity and Social Justice for St. Lucia and incoming Council Chair Hon. Leonard Mantute highlighted the significance of this year's theme in light of the impacts of the pandemic. The number of vulnerable persons has become very extensive, as people who were once self-sufficient are now on the bread line seeking public assistance, and from my research, there are various factors that serve as the key to understanding who is left behind and why. The five most prominent ones are discrimination, place of residence, socioeconomic status, governance, and vulnerability to shocks. From our vantage point, as small island developing states, we can identify with all of these factors. For many of us, the year 2020 may be considered the most challenging time in the post-911 era. This coupled with COVID-19, our societies are plagued with a malaise of problems such as climate change, economic downturns, crime and violence, and a decaying social fabric. And so in my view, if ever there was a time to turn our focus on building resilient and sustainable communities, it is now. Director-General of the OECS, Dr. Dedicus Jules, in underscoring the inherent difficulty of managing the region's human and social development portfolio, warned that the previous challenges have now been compounded by the myriad of crises faced since the COVID-19 pandemic.