Disaster Mitigation High on Agenda at Parish Review in Clarendon May 31

Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Dr. Barbara Carby is to address matters relating to disaster mitigation in Clarendon, on Wednesday, May 31.She will be part of a panel of eight persons who will make presentations on disaster preparedness at the annual Parish Review of the Clarendon Health Department.
The review is to be held at the St. James Methodist Church Hall on Sevens Road in May Pen.
Carlissa Pearson, Health Educator at the Health Department, informed JIS News that the one hour panel discussion is aimed at dealing with and correcting problems peculiar to Clarendon concerning disasters, and in particular, the roles and responsibilities of the various agencies.
This, she said, was significant as Clarendon is noted to be one of the parishes in the island, which usually suffers severe damage from flooding during hurricanes and tropical storms.
“The panel discussion will be in the form of a live outside broadcast and the various presenters will have five minutes to discuss their roles and responsibilities when it comes to disaster in this area. We also want to look at how best each agency or organization can partner with each other to get the maximum positive results in a disaster situation. Dr. Carby will also address a national response and how Clarendon fits into the scheme of things,” she said.
Other panelists will be Mayor of May Pen, Councillor Milton Brown; Delroy Palmer, Parish Manager of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; Ripton Vickers, Red Cross Co-ordinator; Errol Hope, Deputy Superintendent of the Fire Department; Noel Kennedy, Water Production Manager at the National Water Commission (NWC); Dr. Sonia Copeland, Medical Officer of Health at the Clarendon Health Department, and Superintendent of Police, Derrick Knight, Commanding Officer for Clarendon.
The review will be held under the theme: ‘Promoting a culture of Excellence’ and will also feature displays from the Health Department on ‘Disaster Preparedness’, ‘HIV/AIDS Prevention’, and ‘Rodent Control’.
“The review will look at the performance of the health team in terms of achievements, successes and challenges and it seeks to share information with all our key stakeholders such as our staff, various agencies, the business community and all those who want answers. We are bringing our stakeholders in as part of our intention to be accountable and transparent,” Mrs. Pearson said.
Dr. Orville Taylor, Sociologist and Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, will be the guest speaker at the session