This week twenty six participants from 20 provincial governments, the Bougainville Disaster and Climate Change Office, and the National Disaster Centre (NDC) are taking part in a training to acquire disaster risk assessment and shelter construction.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the NDC, and the technical support of the PNG Red Cross Society (PNGRCS) delivered the national Training of Trainer (ToT) on Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) and Build Back Safer (BBS) in Shelter Construction.
The training is funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID-BHA) and delivered in Port Moresby from 06-10 September 2021.
Director for the NDC, Colonel Carl Wrakonei, welcomed the training saying, "I am grateful to the support of the UN and partner stakeholders in strengthening disaster risk management efforts in the country. The NDC appreciates IOM's efforts in organizing this training that has brought together Provincial Disaster Coordinators from across PNG.”
UN Resident Coordinator Dirk Wagener, emphasised the need for strengthened coordination among disaster risk management actors and climate change adaptation agencies.
IOM PNG Chief of Mission, Lance Bonneau highlighted that the IOM’s CBDRM work in the country not only seeks to establish early warning systems and implement measures to mitigate risks to disasters induced by natural hazards, but also to promote participatory community led development aimed at building resilience in line with the UN principle of ‘leaving no one behind’.
The training is being implemented under IOM's USAID-BHA funded project ‘Reduction of economic and human loss and displacement by natural disasters through community-based resilience building and the capacity building of the Government at all levels in Papua New Guinea’.
It will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to replicate the CBDRM and BBS training in the target provinces.
The training will also strengthen community resilience to disasters induced by natural hazards including advancing the implementation of PNG's National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework (2017-2030).