D.M.O CONCLUDES TRAINING ON "Disaster Response Plans"
Photo: Government of Samoa.
The Disaster Management Office(D.M.O) under the umbrella of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (M.N.R.E) held a 15 day training to equip and empower discrete representatives on development of disaster response plans or "Response Agencies Toolkit"
The training kicked off from the 13th to the 17th of February at the National Emergency Operation Center Building at Tuanaimato. The roll out of the toolkit in 2017 where the nation (Samoa) started several disasters and emergencies situations , paved the way for the review and redevelopment of the Response Agency Toolkit 2.0 with integration of national priorities.
A framework to elevate Samoa and its commitment was one of the main aspects of the training that was reviewed under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, World Humanitarian Summit Agenda for Humanity Core Commitments, Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific and Samoa 2040.
According to an announcement by the Disaster Management's Office (D.M.O) the analysis included several boxes that the Office needs to tickoff for the initiative.
"The review mandated the inclusion of localization, gender equality and disability inclusion targets into the toolkit" the Press Release read.The Response Agency Toolkit 2.0 is a capacity building tool for the D.M.O on disaster response and business continuity planning which consists of the following tools" it further explained.
a) Facilitator’s Guide- guide the sessions planning as it will articulate more on session objectives, resources needed to deliver the session, case studies and chronological order of tasks that will be
delivered during the session. b) Facilitator’s Handbook- textbook that the facilitator will use to deliver each session in the facilitator’s guide and guide the development of PowerPoint presentations and handouts for each session.
• Samoa Police, Prisons & Corrections Services
• Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority
• Samoa Bureau of Statistics
• Samoa Tourism Authority
• Red Cross
• Ministry of Public Enterprise
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Ministry of Justice, Courts and Administration
• Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour
• Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
• Ministry of Health
• Electric Power Corporation
• Scientific Research Organization of Samoa
• Samoa Shipping Corporation
The Ministry acknowledged the support of REDR Australia through the Australia Assists programme which was funded by the Government of Australia in the provision of technical support to review and redevelop this toolkit.