HÀ NỘI — Forty Red Cross staffers from Việt Nam, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Laos are participating in a three-day training programme on Participatory Multi-disaster Risks Mapping, which began on Tuesday.

The training, jointly organised in Hà Nội by Vietnam Red Cross Society and German Red Cross, presents a new, user-friendly risk mapping method called Quantum Geographic Information system (QGIS) to Red Cross staff actively involved in disaster risk management and training in preparedness and response.

The session involves lectures with examples and practical training with exercises so that the attendees acquire the skills, participate and exchange information. 

The training programme is one of the key regional-level activities of the 18-month-long Building Urban Resilience in Southeast Asia project, funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO).

This project supports Red Cross partners in Cambodia, Laos, Việt Nam and the Philippines, in building capacities of National Society staff, government officials, school teachers, school children, Red Cross youth and volunteers, and partners, through a coherent, regional strategy on good practices and using innovative methods. It emphasises gender equality and social inclusion, and includes the poor and the vulnerable such as people with disabilities and older people.

In Việt Nam, the project is being implemented in the coastal city of Quy Nhơn in the central Bình Định Province.

“The project aims to enhance the capacity of local, sub-national and national government authorities in building an environment of safety and resilience at all levels for multi-hazard risks,” said Đặng Minh Châu, deputy secretary general of Vietnam Red Cross Society..

"By the end of the project, seven targeted schools in five at-risk urban wards of Quy Nhơn will have gained the knowledge and capacity to understand risks and to effectively prepare for and respond to disasters (both natural and man-made).

“An innovative public awareness and education strategy for disaster risk reduction, targeting specific vulnerable groups, will reinforce positive and safer behaviour, improved preparedness and social change. Local government authorities and the Red Cross will have increased capacity through an innovative QGIS-based preparedness and response mapping methodology,” Châu said.

Vietnam Red Cross Society is one of the leading humanitarian groups in the country, with branches in all 63 provinces and cities, down to district and commune levels. It plays a key role in the National Community-based Disaster Risk Management Programme by providing expertise in capacity-building and awareness-raising at national and local levels. — VNS