Planning and learning for stronger emergency responses in PNG

Above: Rigo district official Ruga Amo with his certificate from attending emergency response training. Photo: Jerome Wafia/ChildFund

Disaster READY partner NGO ChildFund PNG, in consortium with Plan Australia, has been supporting local-level governments in Papua New Guinea’s Central Province to better prepare for disasters through planning and training.

Central Province stretches along the country’s southern coast. PNG is prone to a range of natural disasters including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, cyclones, river flooding, coastal erosion, landslides, droughts and frost.

ChildFund PNG has been working with the provincial government since 2018 to produce the Central Province Emergency Contingency Plan. While still awaiting official sign off from government, which will likely take place later in 2021, the plan is already being used and has supported responses to two disasters in the province.

In addition to providing support on the development of the plan, ChildFund has facilitated a number of training opportunities for district government officials on emergency response.

Above: Ten government officials took part in a recent training session on emergency response. Photo: Jerome Wafia/ChildFund

The training has equipped district government officials with knowledge on the emergency cycle, and how to carry out needs assessments when a disaster strikes. They also learned how the province’s emergency plan connects down to districts and wards.

Officials say the training is already having practical results. In Rigo district, Ruga Amo said he used his knowledge from a recent training session to support the development of a COVID-19 response action plan for his district. With a counterpart, Mr Amo is also making a proposal to the District Development Authority for funds to support disaster preparedness activities.

In PNG, the Plan International Australia consortium – comprising ChildFund Australia, Australian Volunteers International, and CBM Australia  –  are a partner of Disaster READY, implemented through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership.

The focus of Disaster READY is to strengthen disaster preparedness and management across the Pacific. The program focuses on ensuring vulnerable groups, including women, people with disabilities and children, are included and accounted for in disaster preparedness, management and risk reduction activities.