Multi-sectorial Agencies Representatives Benefit from Harmonised Disaster Risk Management Monitoring Workshop
PRESS RELEASE
Georgetown, Guyana – Thursday, January 23, 2020
Several officials in technical capacities from a wide cross-section of Government agencies commenced training in the Sendai Framework Monitoring and the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) tools and their usefulness in the development of Guyana’s Country Work Programme (CWP) for Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management. The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) which is the National Focal Point, is mandated to address Disaster Risk Management in Guyana and is governed not only by the local policies and legislation but also by global and regional frameworks which guide and measure the implementation of the National Disaster Risk Management, plans, strategic programmes and projects.
These monitoring and evaluation tools are comprehensive and are designed to create synergies between a country’s national strategic plans and the Guyana’s Disaster Risk Management (DRM) strategy. Further, these frameworks, once utilised would see alignment across all Government agencies, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Change programmes and other national development goals to create a seamless Country Work Programme (CWP) which could boost economic growth and increase responsiveness and preparedness in disaster management. Moreover, according to United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), countries that utilise the Sendai Framework Monitor will be able to account for their disaster losses in terms of mortality, numbers of people affected, economic losses and damage to critical infrastructure. Additionally, compiling Sendai Framework Monitor statistics will generate useful data to inform national sustainable development efforts. This will support prioritizing action and resources to address the most pressing challenges.
The integration of these Performance Monitoring tools into Guyana’s planning would require organisations to systematically capture and store timely and accurate data and exercise maximum coordination so data could be readily available for national use. The reliability of the data is critical since it will be used to measure indicators and to a larger extend make informed decisions about Guyana’s socio-economic development and its efforts in disaster risk management.
The facilitating organisations of the two-day workshop are the UNDRR, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the CDC. Representatives are also from disaster managed offices from Antigua and Barbuda and St Vincent and the Ggrenadine were participants.