Amcham tackles disaster management

AmchamTT, in collaboration with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) hosted a workshop to enhance collaboration and co-ordination of disaster management in TT on September 21 at the Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain with representatives from the private and public sectors, and civil society organisations.

This initiative is part of the programme of activities AmchamTT has undertaken as the Private Sector Alliance for Resilient Societies (ARISE) lead for TT, which works towards a resilient, prosperous future where fewer lives are lost to disasters; capital assets and investments are risk-informed; and infrastructure is resilient to natural and man-made hazards.

The workshop aimed to enhance the delivery of humanitarian aid and disaster response through the strengthening of partnerships between the public and private sectors. It also focused on advancing a resource mapping project, which commenced last year, and supporting logistics software for efficiently tracking and accessing goods and services during humanitarian aid operations.

“The purpose of today’s workshop isn’t about just strengthening how we respond and provide relief during catastrophic events. We want to move beyond this and strengthen how we come together as organisations operating in the private and public sectors to include disaster risk reduction (DRR) to mitigate the impact of these catastrophes,” Nirad Tewarie, CEO of AmchamTT said.

He added that the cost of rebuilding public infrastructure and administering relief efforts during times of crisis comes at a huge financial cost to the public sector. That means every organisation and individual must undertake this responsibility and involve more DRR in their operations when dealing with catastrophes.

Meanwhile, Major Gen (retired) Rodney Smart, CEO of ODPM said it would take a “whole of society” approach to contend with disasters of immense magnitude and to fully address the complex challenges presented in this modern, multi-hazard environment

“This integrated approach must involve citizens, the public and private sectors, civil society organisations, and regional and international partners, to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from impacts that may challenge the resilience of TT.”

He added that the workshop is designed to serve as a platform for open dialogue and knowledge sharing, allowing us to identify challenges and opportunities, from which we can derive common goals, explore innovative strategies, best practices, and lessons learned.

UNICEF's emergency specialist Jennie Trow said businesses can leverage their own expertise, resources, and channels to make positive contributions to long-term resilience and to address humanitarian needs.

“We saw this in the recent responses to covid19, and regionally at St Vincent and the Grenadines volcano eruption and Suriname floods, which truly showcased how the private sector can accelerate and scale-up actions to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable are met,” Trow said.

The workshop enabled participants to identify common goals and explore opportunities for increased collaboration between business sector organisations and disaster management agencies.

Together, representatives were able to recommend innovative strategies, best practices and chart the way forward for creating sustainable partnerships through increased collaboration – an initiative that directly aligns with the ODPM’s strategic imperatives which specifically seek to strengthen national disaster readiness and resilience.