The excellent cooperation with Geneva-based UN Agencies working in the field of emergency and disaster risk reduction and the prospects for its further strengthening were the core of the fruitful meetings that the Head of the Civil Protection Department, Dr. Fabio Ciciliano, had yesterday with the heads of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), respectively.
During his first visit to Geneva since taking office last July, Dr. Ciciliano, accompanied by a qualified delegation from the Department as well as Italy’s Permanent Representative Amb. Vincenzo Grassi, first met with the Head of the Emergency Department of OCHA, Sabastian Rhodes Stampa, with whom he deepened the activities of the Civil Protection within the system “Disaster Assessment and Coordination” (UNDAC) and “International Search and Rescue Advisory Group” (INSARAG), mechanisms of crucial centrality in the management of emergencies and humanitarian crises when response capabilities are needed in addition to those of individual countries. Broad appreciation was in this regard expressed by OCHA for the volunteer model used by Civil Protection, described as an extraordinary resource in terms of skills and operational capacity that serves as an example for other countries.
The subsequent conversation with the Director of the Geneva office of UNDRR, Paola Albrito, highlighted the excellent collaboration and great appreciation for the work carried out by Civil Protection and more generally by Italy in this area: “On the Italian side,” said Dr. Ciciliano, “we consider UNDRR a strategic partner in multiple areas of global prevention,” stressing how Civil Protection actively participates in global efforts on early warning systems, particularly in Africa with the ‘Early Warning for All’ campaign, as well as in the Balkans, as part of projects aimed at improving disaster resilience.
The Department Head then met at a convivial moment with Prof. Celeste Saulo, Secretary General of the WMO, to which Italy is a major contributor, with whom he reviewed the issues of technical-operational participation of Civil Protection in the field of meteorology and hydrology.
Within the WHO structure dedicated to responding to health emergencies, Dr. Ciciliano finally met with the WHO Director for Country Readiness Strengthening, Dr. Nedret Emiroglu, and the team leader for emergency medical teams, Dr. Flavio Salio. Particular appreciation was expressed for the cooperation provided by Italy in various global health crises, thanks also to the high operational capacity of the Civil Protection. In this sense, other than possible strengthening Civil Protectio’s engagement activities in health operations in Gaza, an area of further cooperation was identified in the mentoring function entrusted to the Department in the field of training and strengthening the operational capacity of medical teams of partner countries.
