BVI College Offers Safer Building Courses

The H. Lavity Stoutt Community College in the British Virgin Islands is offering courses on Safer Building and Construction, which lead to certification. The courses are designed to reduce vulnerability to the effects of natural hazards by strengthening safe building practices. The Level I course covers basic concepts; Level II covers more advanced areas including understanding risked posed by natural hazards in BVI, planning and project management and preparing terms of reference for contracts. The Safer Building and Construction certification program is linked to the issuance of trade licenses, an important motivator for contractors and builders. Health professionals with similar responsibilities may wish to learn more about how to create courses that target health facilities specifically. Contact Lloyd Wheatley at lwheatley@hlscc.edu.vg.

New UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Appointed

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Sir John Holmes as the new United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Mr. Holmes replaces Norway’s Jan Egeland, who stepped down last month after more than three years as the most senior humanitarian official at the Organization.