CMO highlights the need for capacity building in disaster response

Dr. Johnson addressed a workshop last week

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health, Dr. David Johnson, has stated the Ministry has made substantial efforts in strengthening its Disaster Emergency Management plans; however there is still room for improvement in capacity building.

He was speaking on behalf of the Minister for Health and Environment Kenneth Darroux, at a closing ceremony signaling the end of one week of training in mass casualty management at the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) last week.

Johnson noted that it has been observed there is a need to strengthen preparedness and response.

“We are all convinced and have accepted the fact that there is a need to strengthen our preparedness and response mechanism in addressing emergencies and mass casualties in general,” he said.

He noted that without building the capacities of first responders in terms of knowledge and application, there would be a great difficulty in piecing together an organized, comprehensive response plan.

“Given the knowledge and competencies needed in mass casualties management, I think it is almost impossible to develop a very structured and robust plan to reduce the impact of emergencies and mass casualties in Dominica without building the capacity of our first responders,” Johnson stated.

He stated that the impact of TS Erika has taught that a need for building capacity among local persons within various communities is important.

“Undoubtedly, we also need to strengthen the capacity of our senior managers of all the services and department of those who are charged with the responsibility for coordinating the National response,” he remarked.

There were thirty-one participants at the training consisting of representatives of the Fire and Ambulance Department, Police Service, Ministry of Health, Red Cross, ODM, and CADET Corp.

The training was funded by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) with five instructors including regional instructor and Emergency Response expert, Peter Burgess.

 

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