ASEAN disaster management centre to widen its role
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Oct 2017
ASEAN Singapore Nat CAT Terrorism
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is working on appointing the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) in Indonesia as the regional body to respond to disasters within and outside of Southeast Asia, said Singapore Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam.
The AHA Centre was established in 2011 with a remit to facilitate the cooperation among ASEAN member states and with other international organisations in cases of disaster management and emergency response within the ASEAN region. Most recently, it flew emergency relief to Marawi, the Philippines city besieged by terrorist groups, with the support of the Malaysian government.
In order to improve disaster relief preparedness, its scope of coverage will now be widened, said Mr Shanmugam, who was speaking at an ASEAN disaster management dialogue session that was also attended by humanitarian organisations affiliated to the United Nations.
ASEAN to partner UN, NGOs, private sector in disaster management
Mr Shanmugam also highlighted collaboration with the United Nations and other international, non-governmental and private sector organisations as important prongs in disaster management in the region.
To date, the AHA centre has benefited from technical assistance from the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The UN World Food Programme has also helped the Centre to manage its first regional warehouse in Subang, Malaysia. A