The Inter-American Defense Board (IADB), through its Disaster Cooperation Division (DCD) and in conjunction with the American Air Forces Cooperation System (SICOFAA), successfully held the “Seminar on Disaster Prevention, Response, and Aerospace Employment.” This virtual forum, which took place at the historic “Casa del Soldado” in Washington DC, on November 6 and 7, was attended by nearly 7,000 participants from 52 countries.
The main objective was focused on addressing the lessons learned, good practices and experiences of the armed forces and public security that have used their capabilities to carry out humanitarian aid operations both nationally and internationally. Likewise, through this interaction, relevant information was shared to strengthen the common understanding on the subject and to provide a standardized reference for disaster mitigation.
It is worth adding the participation of international speakers from organizations such as: the Military Emergency Assistance Directorate (DIMAE) of Argentina; the Military Emergency Unit (UME) of the Kingdom of Spain; the Coordinator of the Deputy Chief of Operations of the Joint Forces Staff of the Armed Forces of the Ministry of Defense of Brazil; the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations Organization; the Humanitarian and Rescue Unit (UHR) of Honduras; the Mechanism for Cooperation in Disasters – Conference of Ministers of Defense of the Americas (MECODE-CMDA) of the IADB. In addition, the audience was also presented with information on SICOFAA and the participation of the Air Forces of Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru.
Finally, the seminar allowed the speakers to give a broad presentation on the disaster phenomena that have recently affected their nations and the way in which they responded during the crisis and emergency situations they experienced. Through the vision of the IADB leadership, this forum served as a reference to raise awareness in improving response capabilities, as well as to promote the good integration of the armed forces, risk management units and diplomatic channels, taking into account efficient coordination, interoperability, effective communication and the flow of valuable information through the tools that the IADB makes available. In turn, to understand the current challenges and promote the commitment to integrate resources efficiently for the execution of operations in a multilateral and inter-agency environment of international cooperation.
Inter-American Defense Board – Promoting and Strengthening Hemispheric Confidence and Security.
