The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in partnership with UNICEF Maldives, has commenced a five-day workshop in Th. Vilufushi to strengthen the island’s disaster preparedness and community response capacity.

The workshop focuses on developing an Island Disaster Management Plan (IDMP) and providing initial training to Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).

The first three days of the workshop are dedicated to drafting Vilufushi’s Island Disaster Management Plan, while the final two days will focus on initial CERT training to strengthen the community’s capacity to respond to emergencies.

Hassan Ziyau, Director of Programmes, Research and Advocacy at NDMA, said Vilufushi is the third island where the revised Community-Based Resilience Building (CBRB) Programme has been rolled out since its revision in July this year.

“Following the revision of the national framework as the Community-Based Resilience Building Programme in July this year, we have rolled it out in two islands. Vilufushi is the third, and we hope to continue expanding the programme to other islands. Community-based resilience building remains an important priority for NDMA, and we have been working towards strengthening resilience at the community level,” Ziyau said.

The initiative is part of NDMA’s flagship CBRB Programme, which aims to strengthen disaster preparedness, improve local disaster risk management planning and build communities’ capacity to respond to emergencies.