A 411,700 EUR project has helped mitigate the devastating impacts ofnatural disasters in the country through enhancing relevant officials’capacity in community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM).

Funded by the Netherlands Red Cross and the Spain Red Cross, thecalled Disaster Preparedness ECHO 8 (DIPECHO 8) wrapped up on November26 at a conference in Hanoi on November 26.

Vu VanLoc, head of the disaster prevention and response board under theVietnam Red Cross (VRC) said the project highlighted the successfulcollaboration and effective partnership between the Netherlands RedCross and the Spain Red Cross and the Vietnamese counterpart.

Noting the encouraging results of the project, Head of the NetherlandsRed Cross, Paul Vanderlaan held that the stakeholders need to sharetheir gained outcomes and experience and discuss issues to be addressedin the future.

Dipecho 8, also sponsored by theHumanitarian Aid Committee under the European Commission, has beenimplemented in nine Vietnamese central provinces, namely Thanh Hoa, NgheAn, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinhand Phu Yen since last June.

Through offeringrefresher courses, the programme raised government and VRC officials’CBDRM proficiency in vulnerably disaster-hit areas.

It also helped train 98 Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment guideswhile providing measures for local residents to diminish naturaldisaster risks as well as raise their CBDRM awareness. Especially, sixprovincial-level disaster response teams were established to foster theprovinces’ capacity in the work.-VNA