As the hurricane season in the North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea began on June 1st, and the most active months approach, the General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGPC) is continuing to strengthen the national preparedness framework and risk management governance by organizing a national workshop in Les Cayes from June 29th to July 2nd. The workshop, focused on harmonizing and updating contingency plans, aims to develop digitized and dynamic multi-hazard plans for Haiti.

Following on from the reforms undertaken by the DGPC over the past five years to enhance emergency preparedness, this workshop represents a significant step in modernizing national planning mechanisms and strengthening governance. It aims to harmonize national and departmental contingency plans, integrate lessons learned from recent interventions, standardize operational procedures, and improve coordination among the various sectors involved in emergency response.

Bringing together some fifty participants, including the ten departmental directors, central directors, technical staff from the Civil Protection service, national experts, and representatives of member institutions of the National Risk Management System (SNGRD), this activity is organized with the support of technical and financial partners working alongside the Directorate General of Civil Protection (DGPC), notably the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Phoenix Project, and the United States Forest Service (USFS), as part of a sustainable effort to strengthen the country's operational preparedness.

For four days, participants alternated between technical sessions, group work, practical exercises, and hydro-meteorological scenario simulations to consolidate a common framework for emergency preparedness and management. The work focuses in particular on multi-risk analysis, the definition of sectoral responsibilities, the budgeting of response scenarios, and the digitization of planning tools, in accordance with the new unified command paradigm established by the decree of June 15, 2020, creating the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management System (SNGRD).

The main expected outputs of this workshop include a harmonized national framework for contingency plans, a common methodological guide, departmental work plans to finalize the documents, and a national roadmap governing their validation, dissemination, and implementation.

In his remarks, Emmanuel Pierre, the Director General of Civil Protection, reiterated that preparedness remains the cornerstone of risk management. He emphasized that the availability of harmonized contingency plans, regularly updated and shared by all stakeholders, is essential for strengthening preparedness, improving operational coordination, and ensuring a more effective response to major events.

HL/ HaitiLibre