The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) team are in Nadi this week, to carry out Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) training with workers and volunteers appointed to work different functional areas of the EOC, at a national, provincial, regional and village/local emergency level. The Nadi EOC is the fifth centre to receive EOC training, with ten trainings in total planned to be completed by the end of October, in preparation for the up-coming disaster season.
The training, supported by the European Union (EU) funded Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (BSRP) Project, outlines the roles and responsibilities of key people operating in the EOC and gives trainees an understanding of the national emergency management framework.
Permanent Secretary for Ministry for Rural and Maritime Development, National Disaster Management and Meteorological Services, Meleti Bainimarama said that by upgrading emergency facilities and upskilling officers who work in these facilities, they are improving National Disaster coordination.
“Having a uniform disaster management procedures in each province will allow the National Disaster Management Office to gather accurate and relevant information, across the country, to coordinate appropriate response in a timely fashion. The better, we, as a nation, prepare for disasters, the shorter the recovery time will be, and that is ultimately the aim” National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) Permanent Secretary Meleti Bainimarama, said.
The three day EOC training, is compromised of two units of competency, level 3 applied knowledge to work in an EOC and level 4 Effective team work and it is an accredited technical and vocational education training (TVET) course. The EOC training aims to train officer in EOC operational procedures and outlines the key roles and responsibilities of each officer before, during and after a disaster.
“At the end of the three day training, all officers will be certified in EOC operations and will be able to effectively coordinate emergency response before, during and after a disaster. The BSRP Project are proud to support this government led activity, as it contributes directly to strengthening national disaster management, which is the BSRP projects main objective.” BSRP Project, project manager, Taito Nakalevu, said.
The EOC training is one of several activities implemented by the BSRP Project in partnership with the Fiji NDMO. Apart from the training, the BSRP Project funded the refurbishment of all EOC’s in Fiji, provided the NDMO with a mobile emergency operations unit and are currently working with the government to review the national disaster risk management act. The activities supported by the BSRP project are geared to support the overall strengthening of the national disaster management process.
Background:
The ACP-EU Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (BSRP) is a €19.37million project, funded by the EU and implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC). The objective of the project is to reduce the vulnerability, as well as the social, economic and environmental costs of disasters caused by natural hazards, thereby achieving regional and national sustainable development and poverty alleviation in ACP Pacific Island States.
Media contacts:
Vivita Matanimeke | BSRP Project Communications Coordinator |Email: [email protected]
Rusiate Baleilevuka | NDMO Communications Officer | Email: [email protected]