JAKARTA, 23 February 2016 – “The lessons from our collective response to the recent mega disasters which hit the region such as Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, Cyclone Nargis in 2008, and Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 point to an urgent need for more prompt, larger scale and better-coordinated delivery of emergency relief as well as capacities and assets to support and assist affected countries,” said H.E. Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of ASEAN during the ASEAN Joint Disaster Response Plan (AJDRP) Workshop today in Jakarta, Indonesia. The workshop is aimed at identifying available resources and capacities from relevant sectors and stakeholders in the region to ensure fast, collective and reliable response to disasters.
According to Secretary-General Minh, “with our extensive experience in disaster response from Nargis to Haiyan, ASEAN has taken this further by seeking to institutionalize the resilience of the region, our communities and our peoples.” The two-day workshop is held as part of ASEAN’s efforts to operationalise the strategy of ‘One ASEAN One Response’ under the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER). Since its entry into force in December 2009, AADMER has served as the regional framework for enhancing cooperation in managing disasters in the ASEAN region.
“AJDRP aims to provide a comprehensive, risk-based, and multi-hazard regional response plan and it is developed to support the affected country in ASEAN should a large-scale disaster happen, in which the affected country will take the leadership role,” said Mr. Said Faisal, Executive Director of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre). He explained that the AHA Centre with the support of the National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) of ASEAN Member States will coordinate the development and execution of the AJDRP.
The workshop was attended by over 125 participants, comprising government officials from ASEAN Member States responsible for disaster management, foreign affairs, military/defence, health, and social welfare as well as representatives from the United Nations, Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, civil society organisations, academe, and the private sector. It was organised by AHA Centre with the support of the National Disaster Management Authority of Indonesia (BNPB), Governments of Australia and United States, and the ASEAN Secretariat, in close collaboration with ASEAN Member States.
About the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (the AHA Centre)
The AHA Centre is an inter-governmental organisation established by ten (10) ASEAN Member States on 17 November 2011 with the aim to facilitate cooperation and coordination amongst ASEAN Member States and with relevant United Nations and international organisations in promoting regional collaboration in disaster management. The AHA Centre is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
For more information regarding the AHA Centre please contact: