Ensuring survival following a disaster is critical to an island???s sustainability.

This is the view of Minister of Home Affairs, Adriel Brathwaite, who is still not satisfied that the region was paying enough attention to that area. ???One event could destroy 20 to 25 years of effort,??? he said.

His comments came during a courtesy call with United Nations Resident Coordinator, Stephen O???Malley recently.

Mr. Brathwaite stressed that Barbados needed to ensure it could mitigate the possibilities of disaster risk reduction and as a part of that effort, he said he wanted to see more people trained in First Aid at the community level to be first responders, in case such an event affected the country.

???I would like to have someone from every district trained in First Aid so they could take care of themselves initially,??? the Minister indicated.

Mr. O???Malley, also United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative, said the question of resilience needed to be considered, particularly among Small Island Developing States, especially those with capitals built on the sea.

He added that efforts were under way to promote the concept of looking at risks, identifying them and finding ways of mitigation so these measures could be incorporated into the planning process.

julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb

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