By Adnan Rafique
ISLAMABAD: Canadian High Commissioner Leslie Scanlon on Thursday called on NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik and discussed various aspects of possible mutual cooperation and areas where Pakistan needs immediate assistance for a proactive approach to mitigate and manage future disasters.
NDMA Chairman informed the envoy about coordination with Pakistan foreign missions for humanitarian assistance on need basis. He also highlighted remodelling of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) as Digital Hub to connect all disaster management stakeholders for generating a common operating picture for Pakistan.
“This will also incorporate humanitarian agencies and international partners,” he added. Pakistan required cooperation of international community for developing an avant-grade early warning system, which could predict changing weather patterns well before disaster strikes, he said.
The NDMA chairman also laid stress on local requirement based assessment during pre-disaster phase, strengthening of the District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) and preparing the vulnerable communities about the adverse impacts of looming disasters through public awareness campaigns.
He also highlighted upgraded National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) as Think Tank to connect Pakistani universities with world academia and learn from global good practices and replicate same as per Pakistan’s requirements.
The Canadian envoy appreciated the envisioned NEOC and endorsed the need for developing such a high-tech crisis response centre in Pakistan, which had been continuously hit by intense/erratic changing climatic behavior.
She briefed that the Government of Canada had committed to assist flood affectees of Pakistan through funded-projects which would focused on recovery, reconstruction and resilience.
She assured to discuss the further assistance requirements for futuristic NEOC and restocking of disaster management reserves in upcoming official meeting back in Canada.
