University Commission for Disasters Sets Two-year Work Plan

The Central American University Commission for Disaster Education is made up of representatives from universities in all Central American countries. This group has been working for many years to strengthen the disaster curriculum of faculties of health-related disciplines and has been supported by PAHO in this process. However, the Commission itself called for and financed their most recent meeting in Costa Rica, where they met to approve the Commission’s regulations which call for curriculum standardization and common goals for education in risk management and disaster response in Central America. To step up the focus on risk management, the Commission designed a work plan for the next two years. The principal areas in which they will concentrate efforts include: research, education, project preparation, coordination and communications. For more information contact Carlos Roberto Garzon at garzonca@cor.ops-oms.org.

Peru Approves Health Disaster Plan

The President of Peru has enacted into law a national Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response Plan for the Health Sector, which establishes policies, strategic objectives and activities that the Ministry of Health, the Social Security System, the Armed Forces, the police and others must incorporate into their institutional plans. The preparation of the plan was based on a risk assessment that identified emerging and reemerging hazards and evaluated the capacities and vulnerabilities of the health sector. This Plan provides a detailed diagnosis of natural and manmade hazards that pose a threat to the health of Peruvians. The Plan is on the Ministry of Health web site at www.minsa.gob.pe/ogdn. For more information contact Dr. Celso Bambaren: cbambarena@minsa.gov.pe.