On Wednesday, January 31, the United States government, in partnership with the Fiji Business Disaster Resilience Council and the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation will launch a training program for businesses in Suva, Fiji to better prepare for natural disasters. The training is part of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Ready project, which is strengthening the environmental and disaster resilience of Pacific Island countries.
Through this two-day training, 35 participants — drawing from businesses such as PAFCO, Vinod Patel, RC Manubhai, Banks such as BSP, FDB and BRED , Insurance Companies like Tower Insurance and LICI and organizations like Post Fiji , FEA, Women Entrepreneurs Business Council (WEBC) and Suva City council .— will learn about business continuity planning, the role of first responders, and how climate variability affects businesses. They will also learn about government services and disaster management plans. These measures not only help businesses better prepare for disasters, but also position them to effectively contribute to recovery efforts. Following the training program, which has been implemented in Labasa in November 2017 and will also be implemented in Rakiraki later this month, participants will be certified to mentor other businesses and private sector organizations across the country.
USAID’s five-year Ready project strengthens the capacity of governments and institutions to develop and implement effective environmental and disaster mitigation policies and strategies. Ready works in 12 Pacific Island nations: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu