The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) recently hosted the first Caribbean Disaster Management Coordination meeting in Trinidad. The Red Cross team and their donors agreed on a common strategy for reducing disaster risk in Caribbean territories over the next 5 years. 41 participants from 27 countries met at the CrewsInn Hotel and Yachting Centre in Trinidad from May 26th to 27th.
International donors such as the the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), US Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) are partnering with the Caribbean and European Red Cross Societies to collectively develop a 5 year Caribbean Disaster Management strategy. This strategy will be applied to project proposals currently under development thereby ensuring that all national societies in the region have commonalities in the design of their Disaster Management projects and their approach.
The start of the Atlantic Hurricane season on June 1st is a reminder to all that disaster preparedness is key to reducing the impact of disasters. The Red Cross movement has gradually shifted its focus from disaster response and relief to disaster preparedness as we recognise the importance of well-prepared communities who can help themselves and their neighbours in the event of disaster.
Lively and informative presentations were made on the first day of the meeting with ample time being allocated to working group discussions on disaster management from varying perspectives: community, national, regional. The second day was devoted to fine tuning a draft strategy for disaster coordination. Caribbean national societies were able to discuss working arrangements with their European partner Red Cross societies and donor agencies. In essence, participants discussed a common strategy for regional coordination of disaster management. There was an agreement by all parties to streamline their operations, focussing on effective programmes for the benefit of the communities in which they work.
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Daniel Urena Cot, DG ECHO Caribbean |
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Disaster Management |
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Tanya Wood, Regional Representative, IFRC |
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Kathleen Pinard-Byrne, Disaster Management Network Chairperson |
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Participants engage in lively group discussions |
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