ReliefWeb

In the context of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 13, we invited CBi Member Networks to share why disaster risk reduction (DRR) matters now more than ever and why it is relevant for the private sector to engage. Below are the insights shared by Fania Joseph, Executive Director, ACERGA.

Disaster risk reduction is very important. It makes it possible to predict all the damage that can be caused by disaster in order to anticipate and prevent or limit the social-economic impact, to protect lives and properties.

The private sector is the first winner when it comes to a good risk and disaster management because of the massive ownership of assets it holds in any one country.

When businesses or their customers are affected, it negatively impacts their income. The private sector holds the economic wealth of the country and therefore benefits from a resilient community.

All of this is to ensure the continuity of all activities after a disaster.

In Haiti, we face many risks such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding. That is why at the Alliance pour la Gestion des Risques et la Continuité des Activités (AGERCA), we work daily to build a resilient community.

For this, we do not stop informing the population and especially our members through awareness messages, emails every two days on weather, training sessions in communities and campaigns.

We help the dissemination of official information and collaborate with the general direction of civil protection.

AGERCA is an integral part of the National System for Risk Disaster Management in Haiti and it is mobilized when the National Emergency Operations Center is activated during a period of crisis.

As an example of our work, AGERCA has trained 40 trainers for the Digicel Foundation. These trainers are part of the National School network who works with more than 179 establishments across the country. More than 60,000 school children attend these schools, whose director has received the training, which will allow them to build the resilience of their schools by putting in place a school safety and security plan.