Caribbean countries urge closer international cooperation on disaster management

Caribbean countries, identified as the most vulnerable worldwide to natural disasters, have called for closer international cooperation on disaster emergency management and humanitarian assistance. The sixth annual International Mechanisms for Humanitarian Assistance (MIAH) conference, which ended here Friday, aimed to facilitate regional cooperation in responding to disasters. The three-day meeting was co-organized by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Jamaican Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management. Acknowledging the growing frequency of natural disasters around the world in recent years, Jamaican Local Government and Community Development Minister Noel Arscott called for all stakeholders to deliver assistance through collaboration and a shared agenda. "This meeting must serve as the basis for closer collaboration and cooperation between the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency and the international disaster response agencies existing both in Latin America and the rest of the world," the minister said. "We must find ways to determine how each agency measures up, in terms of capacity, to undertake the necessary humanitarian actions, should the need arise," he said. Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Arnaldo Brown praised the UN efforts in offering humanitarian assistance to vulnerable regions. The United Nations, through the OCHA, had made "tremendous strides over the years" to assist Small Island Developing States (SIDs), "which have unique characteristics and vulnerabilities, particularly in times of distress," Brown said. "As we prepare for the Third International Conference for SIDs in Samoa next year and the International Year for SIDs, we anticipate continued and deepened interaction with the OCHA and other UN bodies, in a partnership that will be of mutual benefit to all," he said. The meeting attracted more than 130 officials and non-government delegates from some 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region. The region's exposure to hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts and floods has frequently hindered economic growth in recent decades.