Dominican Republic

The Americas Regional Platform had a wide-ranging discussion on the development of disaster risk reduction in Central America since Hurricane Mitch twenty years ago.

Following the devastation wrought on his Caribbean island home by Hurricane Maria, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Mr. Roosevelt Skerrit, is calling on the world not “to turn its back” on the problem of climate change and for greater investment in disaster risk reduction.

Dozens of disaster risk management professionals from across the Americas have been schooled in how to pass on planning skills, thanks to a programme run by UNISDR’s Global Education and Training Institute.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency is introducing a new awards scheme to recognise distinction in reducing disaster risk including the Jeremy Collymore Award for Research in Disaster Response and Disaster Risk Management.

A new global framework for disaster risk reduction (DRR) must seek to strengthen the role of local government because the impact of all disasters is local, the 4th Session of the Americas Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction heard on Wednesday.

The Dominican Republic has adopted a new ‘National Plan for Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management’. The President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, approved the plan that will define policy guidelines and basic principles for public and private institutions and civil society organizations. The plan focuses on the implementation of programmes that reduce disaster risk, ensure the safety of citizens and protect the country’s economic, social, environmental and cultural heritage.