SPC Geoscience Division

Thursday 26 September 2013, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Nadi, Fiji - Eighteen disaster risk management trainers from Cook Islands, Fiji, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are in Nadi, Fiji this week (23–27 September) attending a Training for Instructors course. The aim is to develop a stronger network of trainers to support, organise and conduct disaster risk management courses in their home countries.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), in collaboration with The Asia Foundation (TAF), is facilitating the training, with support from the regional Pacific Disaster Risk Management Training Programme funded by USAID and the European Union.

The course is targeted at individuals who have played an active role in disaster risk management training activities and programmes in their countries and who will be available after the course to assist with and contribute to national disaster risk management capacity development.

The participants have a range of training experience, with new trainers attending the course for the first time through to experienced trainers attending the course as a final refresher before delivering training for trainers in their home countries.

After the course, the new trainers will be provided opportunities to further build their experience and training skills through participation and co-facilitation of disaster risk management courses which include: introduction to disaster management, initial damage assessment, disaster risk reduction, evacuation centre management, emergency operations centre and exercise management.