The 14th CDEMA Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Meeting
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) hosted its 14thannual Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting in Paramaribo, Suriname from April 17-21, 2023. As part of this event, USAID PROSE supported a capacity building session on the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Blueprint which included discussion on barriers to and opportunities for the advancement of the CDM agenda. National Disaster Coordinators took part in peer-to-peer exchanges to develop recommendations for addressing hindrances and leveraging opportunities for the advancement of regional policy and regulatory frameworks within the Caribbean.
PROSE was represented at the meeting by Ms. Marianela Guzman, Barbados Chief of Party, and Mr. Brendon Taylor, Technical Advisor. In her opening remarks, Ms. Guzman committed support to CDEMA and the regional disaster management system, noting the impact of global hazard events and the need to strengthen legal environments pertaining to multi-hazards. The participants we charged to ‘’not forget the year 2021 in the region which featured a biological pandemic, volcanic eruption, significant flooding in Guyana and Suriname, a major earthquake in Haiti, and the passage tropical cyclones.”
Additionally, Mr. Taylor shared a presentation of PROSE, giving an overview of the project, targeted areas for intervention, the suite of technical services offered, and an orientation to the PROSE Helpdesk mechanism.