Within the framework of SESRIC’s Disaster Risk Management Capacity Building Programme (DRM-CaB), the Centre, in collaboration with the Tunisian Agency for Technical Cooperation (ATCT), organised, through an online video conferencing platform, a Training Course on “Disaster Risk Identification and Risk Assessment” on 28-30 March 2022 for the benefit of OIC African French-Speaking Member Countries.

A competent expert from the Ministry of Equipment, Housing and Territorial Development of the Republic of Tunisia conducted the training course for the benefit of 105 experts from relevant Ministries and national institutions in charge of disaster risk management in 13 OIC African French-speaking Member Countries, namely Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. In addition, experts from Lebanon also attended and befitted from the training.

The training course aimed at enhancing the technical human capacities of participants in disaster risk assessment and management by providing the necessary tools to effectively plan, facilitate, and coordinate disaster risk assessment activities in their respective countries. It also contributed to sharing knowledge, experience and best practices among the relevant national institutions of the OIC African French-speaking Member Countries to identify and mitigate disaster risk.

The training course started with the opening statement by H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, who highlighted the importance of this topic by pointing out the latest data on disaster risks according to SESRIC’s OIC Statistical Outlook Report on “Cost of Natural Disasters in OIC Member Countries” published in October 2021. Recalling the significance of the environment for sustainable social and economic development in the OIC-2025 Programme of Action, the Director General also informed the participants that several other global initiatives like Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Paris Agreement on Climate Change, New Urban Agenda and Addis Ababa Action Agenda are providing opportunities and resources to enhance urban resilience by adopting sustainable urban development practices. Before concluding, the Director general assured the participants that SESRIC will continue furthering its efforts towards enhancing the technical capacities of human resources of the relevant Ministries and national institutions in charge of disaster risk management in the OIC Member Countries.

In his opening statement, H.E. Mr. El Borni SALHI, Director General of the Tunisian Agency for Technical Cooperation (ATCT), started by introducing the Agency and expressed its readiness in developing further cooperation with SESRIC as well as the relevant national African institutions from the OIC Member Countries. Moreover, he stressed the importance of developing the capacities of African experts in different domains, including disaster risk management. In his conclusion, H.E. Mr. SALHI expressed his hope that participating experts will benefit from this training course at the utmost level and then transfer their accumulated knowledge and experience.

In his opening statement, Mr. Nejib BEN CHIKHA, Director of the Directorate of Urban Hydraulics (DHU), commenced by highlighting the state of vulnerability of Tunisia against natural disaster events occurring over the recent years and shared with the audience the actions taken against these risks in Tunisia. In his conclusion, he expressed his hope that this course will contribute to the transfer of knowledge and expertise among the OIC African French-speaking Member Countries in this important domain.

The Disaster Risk Management Capacity Building Programme (DRM-CaB) was developed and initiated by SESRIC in 2015 following the request of the 38th Session of the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs (ICECS), which was held in April 2015 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Programme aims to strengthen institutional and human capacities by sharing knowledge, experiences and best practices among the related Disaster Risk Management Authorities in the OIC Member Countries. Within this framework, the Centre organises capacity-building activities for the benefit of the staff of these Authorities in the OIC Member Countries by using various modalities such as training courses, training workshops, and study visits. For more information on SESRIC’s Disaster Risk Management Capacity Building Programme (DRM-CaB), please visit: https://www.sesric.org/cbp-oic-drm.php.

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