The European Union (EU) has allocated €10 million to fund 14 projects to aid the Caribbean region in its disaster preparedness under the European Commission’s Humanit-arian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO).
According to a press release from the EU’s Delegation to Guyana, the funds will be dispensed through the EU’s Disaster Preparedness ECHO (DIPECHO) programme and the projects “will be implemented in the region between 2015 and 2016 in order to reduce the vulnerability to natural hazards and to better prepare communities and authorities to respond to emergencies.”
Further, the release said, ECHO-funded disaster preparedness projects “have been constantly and successfully tested” in the Caribbean, which is “one of the most disaster-prone area in the world.” “Since 1994, ECHO has allocated over 488 million Euros in humanitarian assistance to the Caribbean. Of these, 70 million Euros were allocated to disaster risk reduction and preparedness in the region contributing to strengthened resilience of the most vulnerable people in the region,” it further said.
The 2015-2016 DIPECHO Action Plan, the release said, has the primary aim of reducing the impact of future disasters in the Caribbean through its population’s preparedness. As a result, the Action Plan would fund community activities, such as risk mapping, emergency plans, early warning systems, educational campaigns and small infrastructure projects, all of which are designed to avoid loss of lives, property and livelihood. It is anticipated that more than 400,000 persons in the region will benefit from the plan.
ECHO’s strategy in the Caribbean through its DIPECHO programme is a culmination of successful experiences developed in the region over the past years. “We have been working on Disaster Risk Reduction in the Caribbean for more than a decade. We recognise this topic has become more relevant, but there are still significant needs in terms of resources and capacities,” Virginie André, ECHO official responsible for the Caribbean, was quoted as saying in the release.
All DIPECHO projects will be implemented in close coordination with the national risk management systems of each country and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
