October 09, 2007	Tuesday	Ramazan 26, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday that the government would put in place an efficient and credible national disaster management apparatus to cater for the entire spectrum of natural as well as manmade disasters.

“The need for such an apparatus was reinforced by the October 8, 2005 earthquake and the government is now in the process of creating a disaster management system,” he said while speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day conference on Disaster Risk Management, organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO).

He said out that the National Disaster Management Commission had already been constituted. He said the NDMA had also been established and its board was being formed. He said the mechanism envisaged the management of all kinds of disasters through a paradigm shift by moving away from response to relief-oriented approach and by adopting a disaster risk reduction perspective from the local government level upwards.

The prime minister said the authority would have a core group and would also be able to hire experts keeping in view the peculiar nature of the threat. “The key element in disaster management is to know whom to access and where to tap,” he remarked.

He said one of the lessons learnt from the 2005 earthquake was that “One size fits all” approach was not appropriate and strategy suited to the peculiar requirements of each calamity was required. He said strategic coordination and clear mandate were also equally important.

Mr Aziz also called for international coordination and creation of a global disaster management fund.

“We must remain interactive and keep sharing our expertise, skills and resources in providing necessary help and comfort to those in need in any part of the world,” he stressed.

Appreciating the concern of the delegates from ECO member countries for their concern for addressing the challenge of reducing disaster risks in the region, he pointed out that the ECO region faced common natural hazards and risks including earthquakes, floods, drought and landslides. “Such catastrophes disrupt our social and economic development and cause misery and suffering to our people,” he observed.

The prime minister underlined the need for collectively finding effective ways of mitigating the impact of natural disasters and dealing with such cataclysmic events.