DMCA Officer Involved In Review of UWI Disaster Management Courses

Communications Officer at the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) Theodore Phillip contributed to a review of two Disaster Risk Management Pilot Courses that would be introduced at the University of the West Indies - Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.

The series aims to equip  practitioners and policymakers across the Caribbean with the skills required to help make the region more adequately prepared for and resilient to disasters.

The Community-based Disaster Resilience pilot was held from June 12th to the 15th while the Communications for Disaster Risk Management offering will be piloted in Jamaica from July 2nd to the 3rd.

Director of the UWI’s Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (DRRC) Dr Barbara Carby explains that this initiative is a direct response to the pressing need for more effective and timely percolation of existing knowledge to those who can make a real difference in creating a safer and more resilient Caribbean.

Carby says the globally, the problem has been that despite the mountain of accumulated knowledge, losses as a result of natural disasters have continued to mount.

One possible reason, she admits is the lack of a functional flow of information between the creators of new insights within the scientific community and those who create and implement public DRM policy.

Dr Carby who is also Co-Principal Investigator of the Enhancing Knowledge and Application of Comprehensive Disaster Management (EKACDM) Initiative argues that apart from creating new and more directly relevant knowledge, success depends on a participatory and multi-disciplinary approach.

One key function of the EKACDM Initiative is to support the implementation of the regional Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Framework 2014-2024 of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) by helping to train key personnel in the public and private sectors, and civil society groups.

Fifty participants from across the region have been invited to participate in the review of the courses through the piloting exercise.