The Ministry of the Interior, Community Development and Public Security, through the National Platform for Risk Prevention and Disaster Management (PFN-PRGC), organized in Ngozi with the support of the PNUDB and the IOM, a workshop to train and harmonize the knowledge of risk prevention and disaster management actors in Ngozi. This workshop lasted two days.

As indicated by the President of the national disaster risk reduction platform Police Commissioner Anicet Nibaruta, the objective of the workshop was to have a common understanding of the missions that are assigned to the national platform for disaster risk prevention and management. It is about rescuing people, protecting their property and protecting the environment in emergency situations. He also said that it was a knowledge upgrade retreat in the field of disaster risk reduction with the new members of the national platform and other humanitarian actors.

During the two days, the participants discussed the mission of the national platform in charge of disaster management. According to the president of the platform, together they analyzed the state of affairs in Burundi. They learned about how disaster risk reduction is being done globally and regionally. They found that Burundi is making significant enough progress to have put in place disaster risk reduction structures from the national to the local level, continued Anicet Nibaruta.

During the workshop, the Chair of the platform reported that this structure has developed preparation and response tools, including the contingency plan for the national disaster risk reduction strategy, aligned with the global framework for disaster risk reduction and the national development plan. “The national platform for disaster management is on track with global instructions and recommendations to better reduce risks and manage disasters.” indicated Anicet Nibaruta.

Despite these advances, the President of the PFN-PRGC emphasized that there was still a long way to go. It is for this reason that recommendations have been formulated so that the platform can live up to its mission.

This includes continuing community awareness-raising activities to reduce the impact of bushfires and road accidents, which cause a lot of deaths, and investing in the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation aspects into communal community development plans.

For him, we can no longer talk about disaster management today without taking into account the concept of risks. He said that these concepts of disaster management will be systematically integrated into school curricula because the national platform wants children to learn from an early age, the aspects of disaster risk reduction and the aspect of climate change.

With regard to the management of victims of floods linked to the overflow of waters of the Rusizi, Mpanda and Kajeke rivers associated with the rise of the waters of Lake Tanganyika, the members of the national platform agreed to devote much more attention to the management of this issue together with the General Directorate for Land Use Planning and the General Directorate for the Integration of Disasters at the level of the Ministry in charge of National Solidarity.

Participants in this workshop also assessed priority needs in Rumonge Province and Makamba Province and found that individuals and households were affected by the rising waters of Lake Tanganyika, which caused their displacement. These people need assistance and the national platform is in the process of providing humanitarian assistance to these households.