On December 5, 2018, the Conference was held: “Efforts to increase the region's response capacity against natural disasters” at the Casa del Soldado facilities, which had the general objective of knowing the capabilities, resources and human material from some countries on the continent in rapid response to natural disasters, to help create these capacities in the least resilient countries of the Hemisphere in terms of response to natural disasters. This is in compliance with the mandate issued by the OAS to support the region's efforts aimed at increasing the capacity for response and mitigation of disasters as part of hemispheric action to address these challenges.
The Delegations of the Member Countries of the OAS and the IADB, representations of International Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), as well as members of the bilateral embassies in the US, among others, participated in this event; also counting on the participation of the Inter-American Committee for Natural Disaster Reduction of the OAS (CIRDN), US Agency for International Development (USAID), Pan American Health Organization (Pan American Health Organization – PAHO), National Disaster Risk Management Unit of Colombia (UNGRD), and other specialists on the subject.
The speakers included the participation of specialists on the topic: Dr. Mark Hamilton, member of the Faculty of the Inter-American Defense College (CID), who presented “A multidimensional vision of natural disasters and their relationship with other threats of the American continent". The participation of Brigadier General Juan Carlos Alemán Soto, Head of the Military Delegation of Guatemala to the OAS, who gave the presentation on "The lessons learned from the natural disaster presented in the eruption of the El Fuego volcano in Guatemala." Like Brigadier General Luis Emilio Cardozo Santamaría, Commander of the Engineer Command of the National Army of Colombia, he made the presentation with the topic "Organization, capabilities and projection of the Disaster Response Battalion of the Colombian Army." And finally, Doctor Eduardo José González, Director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), who closed the conference with the topic “Organization of the UNGRD of Colombia, its experiences, capabilities and projections.”
Regarding the last conference mentioned above, the notable conclusions were the need to look beyond the response, have a broader vision, that is, a strategic vision with a focus on multidimensional security, focus the development plans of each country towards human security, health security and public safety. Likewise, with respect to the lessons learned, it was concluded the importance of the countries in the region having the necessary equipment to deal with emergency situations that arise in terms of natural disasters, disasters and difficult situations unite the country that suffers. said scourge. Regarding the Colombian Disaster Battalion, it was concluded that its training, training and certification is of vital importance for the response capacity that a country can have in situations of natural disasters, learning with experience and the unification of The different organizations under a single institution guarantee greater resilience, response capacity and mitigation in the effects of natural disasters. The School of Military Engineers of the National Army of Colombia offers a master's degree in Risk Management and Development, in addition to the Course in Disaster Risk Management and the Advanced Canine Guide Course. Finally, it was concluded that the law that was created in Colombia for the National Disaster Risk Management Unit guaranteed resources at the Municipal, Departmental and National level, in addition to providing financial, preventive and corrective protection for disaster response in said country.
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