The conference was sponsored by the Asia Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American Red Cross.

Participants said that Vietnam has been hit more frequently and severely by natural calamities, in recent years that caused enormous damage in human lives and property.
In addition, the globalisation process has given rise to the possibility of diseases being transmitted faster, including the deadly H5N1 and the type A/H1N1 flu viruses.

They said concerted measures to improve the general capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters are extremely needed and must be community-based. They include training to improve public awareness; organising volunteers’ groups for disaster-prevention and search-and-rescue at localities; setting up early warning systems and stepping up disaster rehearsals.

The meeting drew the participation of officials from the Ministries of Defence, Public Security, Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, Education and Training and Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, as well as representatives from the national steering committees on prevention and control of floods and storms, and human influenza pandemic; the national committee for Search and Rescue and the National Administration of Hydrography and Meterology.

The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) has been selected to join the ADPC’s programme on improving the capacity for emergency response from 2009-2014 (phase III).