– to strengthen capacity for disaster response
THE Civil Defence Commission (CDC) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Monday commenced a three-day workshop with representatives from agencies that constitute the National Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis Committee (DANA).
The aim of the workshop is to identify and gear national teams, which will be going out to disaster affected areas to conduct precise damage assessment and needs analysis that will determine the appropriate response and recovery effort.
Director General of the CDC, Colonel Rtd. Chabilall Ramsarup, in his remarks said that due to global warming, the world has been experiencing more natural disasters, which are very intense in nature. As such, he said a high level of preparedness is of extreme importance.
Ramsarup explained that members of the team will be the technical persons who will be assessing the site of the emergency. He added that even though a wide cross-section of stakeholders will be trained, deployment will depend on the nature of the emergency.
The National Damage Assessment Operations Policy, Framework and Plan were finalised and recently approved by Cabinet for implementation.
This Committee was formulated following a meeting in January where 15 representatives at the policy making level met to discuss future actions needed for a standard DANA system for Guyana.
The CDC which falls under the purview of the Office of the President was established in 1982 to provide a national relief plan.
The workshop focuses on DANA systems in Guyana in terms of policy, framework and plan and data gathering.