2022 was particularly intense: many activities were carried out at various levels to strengthen our risk prevention, preparedness and disaster response. Indeed, whether in schools, with businesses, the Red Cross network or citizens of the Caribbean and the Guyana Plateau, PIRAC continues to strengthen its programs and emergency interventions, in close cooperation with its partners.
The year 2023 is already full of challenges for a resilient Caribbean.
The highlights of 2022
January 30 to February 4: Psychological first aid training
51 volunteers and employees of the French Red Cross in Guadeloupe benefited from a training in psychological first aid in disaster situations within the framework of the Ready Together/3 oceans program.
May 17 to 19: a regional cooperation event organized in Sint Maarten
More than 40 participants from 13 Caribbean Red Cross Societies and regional partners gathered to strengthen the sharing of experience and expertise among actors. The objective was also to reinforce to strengthen the effectiveness of emergency coordination at the regional level.
July 29: Annual hurricane season preparedness workshop
PIRAC participated in a hurricane season preparedness workshop to strengthen civil-military cooperation in case of disaster with its operational partners (Crisis and Support Center / EMIZA / Armed Forces in the Caribbean).
September 16: Tropical storm Fiona hits Guadeloupe
The PIRAC and Red Cross teams of Guadeloupe have deployed a wide range of aid mechanisms to support the populations affected by the disaster. All emergency actors have coordinated to provide a quick and efficient response.
November 6 to 18: PIRAC at the COP27 in Egypt
PIRAC was represented by its partner, the OECS, to advocate for strengthening the resilience in the Caribbean and to present the Ready Together / 3 Oceans program at COP27.
March 29: a training for small businesses in Guadeloupe
Two interactive workshops were organized to help businesses to better prepare and react to the effects of climate change, within the framework of the Ready Together/3 oceans program.
June 20 to 24: training to deploy a seawater treatment plant in case of disaster
PIRAC organized a training session with the support of the City of Lamentin (Guadeloupe) and in partnership with Aquassistance, in order to reinforce the capacities of volunteers specialized in “Water, Hygiene and Sanitation”.
September 14: a steering committee with Paré pa Paré’s partners
All the technical and institutional partners of the Paré pa Paré project in Guadeloupe were gathered around a presentation of a first assessment of the project and its final perspectives, with the Region, the SDIS, the OVSG, Météo France and the SIDPC.
October 6 to 20: a campaign “The climate is changing… What about you?” is launched
From October 6 to 20, PIRAC and its partners organized a regional awareness campaign on the impacts of climate change in the Caribbean. The campaign promoted climate-related adaptation solutions.
December 6-9: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene training in Guadeloupe
Participants from Haiti, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and the territories of Saint Martin, french Guyana and Guadeloupe were able to train in water purification in case of disaster, with the support of the Veolia Foundation.
April 21: A webinar on climate change and epidemic risks
A webinar was organized within the framework of the “Rempart Epidemic” program on the topic “Climate change and epidemic risk on the Guiana Shield: what impacts and courses of action mobilizing populations?”
June 30: a new online logistics training for a better preparedness
In the framework of the ECHO program, PIRAC has launched a new online training course on logistics for disaster preparedness and response for volunteers and staff within the Caribbean Red Cross.
August 30-September 2: Community-Based Surveillance Training
As part of the REMPART Epidemic program, PIRAC conducted a training on Community-Based Surveillance for 15 participants from the Suriname and Guyana Red Cross Societies and the Ministries of Health of both countries.
October 12: mobilization for the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
About a hundred people participated in a half-day of awareness on natural hazards in Guadeloupe. In total, 4 classes of sixth graders, teachers, school principals and national education inspectors were present.
December: a new logistics platform for the Caribbean Red Cross
The PLAYS tool (“PLateform inventorY System”) has been developed to facilitate the management of humanitarian stocks. 6 National Societies have already been trained (Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis).
Disaster response and emergency preparedness: key information for 2022
Storm Fiona in Guadeloupe
From September 22 to October 5, PIRAC distributed 70,000 liters of water and filled communal cisterns in the communes of Vieux-Habitants and Vieux-Fort, thanks to the active participation of volunteers from the Guadeloupe Territorial Delegation.
Water, Hygiene and Sanitation training
21 volunteers and employees of the Red Cross Movement in the Caribbean/Guyana region received training in the deployment of mobile water treatment or desalination units with our partners (Véolia Foundation and Aquassistance).
In 2023, PIRAC’s Emergency Department will be working on 3 priorities
- The strengthening of the capacities of the Caribbean Red Cross in the field of emergency drinking water production;
- The development of the emergency volunteer network
- The strengthening of the emergency response capacities of PIRAC
PIRAC programs in 2022 and outlook for 2023: some key figures
READY Together and 3 Oceans
In 2022, the READY Together/3 Oceans programs conducted several activities with these target audiences (general public, small and medium businesses, Red Cross Movement, operational and institutional partners), in order to strengthen the emergency preparedness and response capacities of Caribbean territories. The program is funded by Interreg Caribbean, AFD and the Guadeloupe Region.
In total, by 2022, thanks to the Ready Together program :
- 262 small and medium-sized businesses have benefited from awareness tools on climate change and disaster preparedness,
- 51 volunteers and employees of the Territorial Delegations and Facilities of the French Red Cross in Guadeloupe have benefited from training in psychological first aid in disaster situations,
- 10 key messages were conveyed in a digital awareness campaign on adaptation and solutions to climate change.
In 2023, a new program will be deployed as a continuation of the Ready Together project: “Ready 360°”. This new project aims at building a global and greener resilience of the Caribbean territories by strengthening disaster preparedness and response capacities at all levels: from the individual and family, to organizations and businesses, to the level of regional institutional coordination of risk management.
Paré pa paré
Numerous activities have been carried out within the framework of the Paré pa Paré program in Guadeloupe, which aims at raising awareness and educating about natural hazards in schools and with the general public. The program is funded by the Feder and the Guadeloupe region.
In total, in 2022, thanks to the program Paré pa paré :
- more than 4000 children benefited from raising awareness workshops during school time or during extracurricular time with municipal agents,
- more than 250 people benefited from raising awareness sessions during public events,
- More than 140 teachers, extracurricular workers and French Red Cross volunteers have been trained in Disaster Risk Reduction awareness tools
For 2023, new awareness-raising tools on disaster risk reduction could be developed for middle and high school students. One of the priorities would also be to adapt existing tools to people with disabilities. Finally, a key element will be the drafting of a phase 2 of the project in order to sustain the activities conducted since 2020, and thus continue to contribute to improving the resilience of the Guadeloupean population.
Caribbean Preparedness
Within the framework of the “Caribbean Preparedness” program, which aims to optimize the logistical preparation of humanitarian actors in the Caribbean territories in a multi-hazard context, 3 highlights marked the year 2022 with :
- The launch of a new online training course on warehouse and stocks’ management
- The launch of a new logistics management tool (called PLAYS) for a better organization within the Red Cross network,
- A regional cooperation event in Sint Maarten in May 2022.
In total, in 2022, thanks to the Caribbean Preparedness program :
- 350 people from 89 territories participated in the online training “Warehouse and Stock Management” accessible through the International Federation of Red Cross platform.
- More than 50 people from 6 Caribbean Red Cross societies participated in the online training or benefited from individual face-to-face training (Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis)
- 44 people from the Red Cross Movement and its partners participated in a regional cooperation event on disaster management. The objectives were to bring the network together, to strengthen community and inter-actor cooperation in preparation for the hurricane season and to exchange on key technical issues.
Epidemic Rempart
In partnership with the Territorial Delegation of the Red Cross of Guyana, the Red Cross of Suriname and Guyana, PIRAC is implementing the REMPART Epidemic project to strengthen epidemic control on the Guiana Shield.
In total, in 2022, thanks to the Epidemic Caribbean program :
- More than 350 children were sensitized to vector control and hygiene promotion in Guyana and French Guiana,
- 15 people were trained in Community Based Surveillance in Paramaribo
- 40 people were trained in psychological first aid in case of an epidemic in Cayenne (volunteers and Red Cross employees)
