SPC Geoscience Division

As a part of their final year curriculum, 71 trainee nurses at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE), have received training in disaster management and damage assessment.

Mr Vuli Gauna assisted the facilitation of the Introduction to Disaster Management (IDM) and Initial Damage Assessment (IDA) courses that were held at SICHE in April.  

He is the Training Support Officer working with The Asia Foundation and USAID / Office of the US Foreign Disaster Assistance, Pacific Disaster Risk Management Program (PDRMP), based at the SPC/SOPAC campus in Fiji.

“The disaster management training assists the nurses to look at identifying opportunities within community development programmes where prevention, mitigation and preparedness measures can be applied to help in reducing disaster risks."

The damage assessment training provides knowledge and tools on how best to collect and record information for reporting of damage resulting from hazard impacts, which is important for government’s response efforts during any disaster,” said Mr Gauna.

Upon graduation, many of these nurses will take up positions at health centres and nursing stations in the more remote villages and communities, spread throughout the 300 inhabited islands within the Solomon Islands group.