From May 12 to 18, the Inter-American Defense Board participated in the Preliminary Planning of the Annual Conference of Chiefs of the American Air Forces (LXIV PREPLAN), held in Halifax, Canada. The event is part of the thematic cycle of the Cooperation System between the American Air Forces – SICOFAA, of which the IADB is a special guest.
The Inter-American Defense Board presented the new concept of the Disaster Cooperation Mechanism – MECODE, highlighting the importance of the partnership between the two organizations, with the common objective of helping an affected country in case of need.
According to the Head of the Project Office of the Inter-American Defense Board, Colonel Pestana, who represented the IADB at the event, MECODE is aligned with SICOFAA towards a common objective: promoting humanitarian aid, quickly and for as long as possible. necessary, to minimize suffering caused by natural and man-made phenomena.
MECODE is in the final phases of development and, once completed, will allow needs to be organized through previously established contact points, based on an international call from a country. The Mechanism will have support software, which will allow these needs to be organized, prioritizing resources and optimizing processes. This tool is being developed with the support of Brazil, through the Military Institute of Engineering (IME).
In this context, it is worth highlighting some vital aspects of humanitarian aid: response time and permanence. SICOFAA has a great capacity for rapid response, while MECODE will contribute to the continuity of support, as it permeates several organizations, making the JID / SICOFAA partnership complementary and synergistic.
