Targeting Vulnerable Communities to Strengthen National Resilience – CDEMA

Paramaribo, Suriname, January 26, 2016 (CDEMA) – The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in partnership with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are seeking to strengthen and sustain national resilience through prioritized targeting of the most vulnerable communities.

In efforts to promote and enhance resilience at the national level, it is vitally important to accurately measure the level of exposure faced by communities in light of disasters. To address this issue, the CDEMA and IFRC are hosting a Strategic Targeting Methodology (STM) workshop in Paramaribo, Suriname from January 26th – 29th, 2016.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Ronald Jackson, Executive Director of CDEMA said, “The importance of this event cannot be over-stated as we are well aware that communities are the first to be adversely affected by disaster events, especially if they are highly vulnerable. CDEMA is promoting the strengthening of community resilience as a critical plank in national development strategies.”

The STM is one tool that has been developed to provide the relevant information needed to select communities that are considered most vulnerable to natural disasters. It supports a joint prioritization of communities at the national level so that the most vulnerable communities are targeted.

“The current climate change dilemma will continue to increase the frequency and intensity of climate driven hazards making them more unpredictable than what we would have traditionally experienced”, said Jackson. “We must gain a better understanding of the capacity and resource needs as well as the priority areas for action necessary to reduce the vulnerability and exposure of our communities.”

“CDEMA will be taking steps over the period of this year to facilitate processes geared at advancing the Community Based Disaster Risk Management Mechanisms inclusive of creating the enabling environment and strengthening national systems for coordinating community Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Interventions,” stated Jackson.

The implementation of the STM in Suriname is being done through the National Coordination Centre of Disaster Management (NCCR) in collaboration with Suriname Red Cross. This STM will focus on lessons learnt from its application in one community and how they can be practically applied to other communities. Once completed nationally, the next step is to introduce the tool to other countries across the region.