Representatives from Antigua and Barbuda were among participants taking part
in a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) training for senior staff,
organized by regional and international relief agencies.
The workshop was organized by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency
Management Agency’s (CDEMA’s) Co-ordinating Unit in collaboration with
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other international
partners. This event took place in Barbados from Monday 27th March to Friday
31st March and it was aimed at select sectors targeting seven (7) participating
states as well as Disaster Managers.
Forty (40) participants were selected from the CDEMA participating states
under the Enabling Gender-Responsive Disaster Recovery, Climate, and
Environmental Resilience in the Caribbean (EnGenDER) project and attended
the workshop.
The participants were drawn from Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominica,
Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, and St Vincent & The Grenadines along with the
staff of CDEMA, UNDP, and the EU. The group comprised of senior staff from
their respective countries' Housing, Agriculture, Economic Planning, Finance,
Infrastructure, and Tourism ministries.
The main objectives of the workshop were to:
• Provide participants with the knowledge of The Post-Disaster Needs
Assessment (PDNA), the methodology which collects information on the
physical impacts of a disaster.
• Provide training to sectoral actors, to ensure a practical understanding of the
methodology.
• Develop a cadre of professionals with the capacity to support its application
for the assessment of damage, loss, and sectoral recovery needs, in the wake of
a disaster.
• Provide in-depth training that will enable participants to become sector focal
points in their country.
Antigua and Barbuda was represented by Dr. Adelle Blair – Sustainable
Tourism Officer – Ministry of Tourism, Mrs. Jannelle Wehner-Watts – Senior
Budget Analyst – Ministry of Finance, Mr. Alvah Guishard – GIS Specialist –
NODS, Mr. Andrew Nurse – Chartered Surveyor – Survey and Mapping
Division and Ms. Marcelle Freeland – Liaison Officer – Ministry of Agriculture,
who all returned over the weekend.
