Preparedness: Brazil invests in the nation's disaster managers
Briefly Noted: Disasters - Preparedness and Risk Reduction in the Americas
Brazil is increasing training opportunities for its disaster managers through the development of a new version of the International Course on Health, Disasters and Development, known as LEADERS (created by PAHO/WHO). The goal is to offer distance learning to disaster managers in about 5,600 Brazilian municipalities on surveillance of disaster risk factors.
Since it was first offered in 2000, the LEADERS course has provided disaster managers, technical staff and decision makers with the necessary knowledge to lead risk reduction programs in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Brazil, five LEADERS courses were held between 2003 and 2008. Some 150 health sector professionals and experts from other ministries that make up the National Civil Defense System - all of whom are engaged in disaster management and risk reduction - have participated in the course throughout 27 Brazilian states.
The online version of the course is scheduled for release later in 2011. For more information please contact mara@bra.ops-oms.org. To subscribe to the e-newsletter, contact: disaster-newsletter@paho.org