The government of Panama and the United Nations call for enhanced collaboration on disaster preparedness and response
(Panama City/ New York, 30 March 2012): Representatives from 29 countries and regional organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean agreed today to further enhance regional cooperation in disaster preparedness and humanitarian response.
At the Fifth Meeting on Enhancing International Humanitarian Partnerships (MIAH), hosted by the Government of Panama and supported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), regional leaders and representatives from international and regional humanitarian organizations adopted a Plan of Action which calls for closer collaboration to strengthen disaster response and management systems in the region.
People in the region are affected by floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. These hazards are likely to increase, partly due to the changing climate and to environmental degradation linked to rapid urbanization. The estimated 180 million people living in poverty in the region are at particular risk.
“The Latin American and Caribbean region has many “silent” emergencies: recurrent minor disasters that are not covered by the international media, but which erode resilience, exacerbate social and economic inequalities, and set back hard-won development efforts,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos. “And of course every minor disaster is a major emergency to the person affected. I strongly support the regional agreement and the grouping as a model for the world. The UN is committed to supporting this process and working in close partnership on preparedness and response.”
Panama, a regional humanitarian hub, hosts 30 humanitarian organizations including UN agencies and the OCHA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) which works closely with government and humanitarian partners to strengthen disaster preparedness and response in the region. The Panamanian Government is currently constructing common premises for the UN, scheduled to open in 2014.
“Since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Government of Panama has focused on its foreign policy and decided to use our strategic geographic position and experience in logistics to create a logistics hub to support humanitarian activities for the region,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama Roberto C. Henriquez. “We are committed to creating an optimal environment to enable international humanitarian actors to solve logistics issues in the timely and efficient manner required by emergency situations. We feel that the regional logistics hub will be a great benefit for the region and encourage countries to join this initiative and strengthen our service.”
160 representatives from 29 countries and 22 humanitarian organizations participated in the three-day meeting. Keynote speakers included the UN Resident Coordinator, the Vice-Ministers and Executive Secretaries of sub-regional organizations.
For further information, please contact:
Manuel Rodriguez, ROLAC, rodriguez31@un.org, Tel. + 507 6679 2212
Devi Palanivelu, OCHA New York, palanivelu@un.org, Tel. + 1917 650 9782
Diamantina Rivera Alonzo, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Government of Panama, drivera@mire.gob.pa, Tel. + 507 6797 1713