Guyana’s disaster risk management need multi-stakeholder approach

GUYANA MUST PURSUE A MULTI-STAKEHOLDER STRATEGY to disaster risk
management said Prime Minister Mark Phillips.
“I am pleased to recognise the multi-stakeholder approach which extended its reach beyond
representatives of Government, to include representatives from civil society, the private sector,
and NGOs, who are critical partners in reducing disaster risk,” Phillips, a retired army Brigadier,
said.
“It is my expectation that through this and future partnerships, disaster mitigation and
preparedness will be strengthened, leading to enhanced response, and recovery,” in Guyana so
far unaccustomed to tragedies linked to nature, said PM Phillips at a workshop Wednesday to
open a National Disaster Preparedness Baseline Assessment to strengthen the country’s Disaster
Risk Management (DRM) capacity.
He said this country’s disaster mitigation and preparedness tactic will be strengthened through
the Civil Defence Commission’s (CDC) forging strategic partnerships.
CDC Director-General, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, addressing the opening ceremony
noted the need for a paradigm shift for disaster risk reduction and management in Guyana.
“Through this partnership, a Disaster AWARE Platform would be established. This virtual
platform is one of the most accurate and reliable early warning and multi-hazard monitoring
platforms used by several governments and humanitarian organisations globally”, Colonel Craig
explained.
The Pacific Disaster Center – an applied science, information and technology agency – is helping
the CDC with the Disaster AWARE Platform which helps reduce disaster risks and their impacts
on life, property, and economies worldwide.