Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Emergency Relief and Reconstruction
Sri Lanka is vulnerable to multiple natural hazards caused by extreme weather events. With the effects of climate change, the impact and frequency are increasing. The Disaster Management Center (DMC) under the Ministry of Defense of the Government of Sri Lanka is the lead agency to reduce and manage disaster events. This includes an operational preparedness system with response forces at multiple levels.
DRR, along with Climate Change and Environment are key areas of Switzerland’s international cooperation. Switzerland co-shaped the international standards for Urban Search and Rescue known as the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG).
Based on a request by DMC and its interest for collaboration, the Embassy of Switzerland supports DMC through technical assistance towards an improved national response system. The collaboration focuses on capacity building for preparedness and response aiming strengthened search and rescue capacities. Therefore, several Swiss and international experts will provide multiple training, coaching and advisory sessions during their missions to Sri Lanka. They will closely collaborate with a selected team of responders at the Center for Disaster response Training (CDRT) of the Sri Lanka Army in Gampola, who can serve as a reference team for replication in the future. The expert sessions refer to international best-practice standards, namely INSARAG, covering its five standard domains: Management, Search, Rescue, Medical and Logistics and include advice for training curriculum and training facilities. The training and working sessions will be shaped according to Sri Lankas hazard/risk profile, needs and specific priorities of the partners.