Suchana, Save the Children holds Workshop on Disaster Management

The Department of Disaster Management and the Suchana Programme from Save the Children Bangladesh organised a collaborative workshop on "Disaster Management" for Project Implementation Officers (PIO) and District Relief and Rehabilitation Officers (DRRO).

The work shop took place on Monday (13 December) at Hotel Metro International in Sylhet, reads a press release.

The Director of Monitoring Information Management Netai Chandra Dey Sarker was the chief guest who also served as the 'Resource Person' for the workshop.

Other distinguished participants included Sunamganj District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer (DRRO) Shafiqul Islam, DRRO of Sylhet Nurul Islam, Jaintiapur Upazila Parishad Chairman Mohammad Kamal Ahmed, Rustompur Union Parishad Chairman Shahab Uddin President of the Sylhet Press Club Iqbal Siddiquee and PIOs from different upazilas of Sylhet and Moulvibazar.

Biswojit Kumar Roy, senior manager of Climate Resilience and Capacity Building for Suchana, Save the Children, presented the objectives of the workshop.

He described the collaborative workshop as a step towards an integrated national approach to disaster management, which complements the mandate for NGO coordination of the Department of Disaster Management.

Roy said, "Climate change is global, but its impact is local. At Suchana we are working on the local response to disasters. Suchana has been working in compliance with the government's Standing Orders on Disaster (SoD) at the community and institutional levels. This workshop is an opportunity to share the learning and best practices from Suchana that may be mainstreamed by the Department of Disaster Management."

Netai Chandra Dey Sarker, Director (MIM), DDM, emphasized the importance of a coordinated approach towards disaster management and praised the role of NGOs.

He said, "Although Bangladesh is lauded as role model in disaster management by global leaders, we still have not institutionalised a knowledge base. We need to document our best practices so that the world may learn from our experience."

Sarker highlighted the role of Project Implementation Officers and District Relief and Rehabilitation Officers in implementing national policies locally and adapting local knowledge institutionally.

Mohammad Ali Reja, deputy programme director, Suchana presented an overview of the activities of the programme. Much like disasters, undernutrition is an issue that must be managed with a multisectoral, integrated approach.