Dominican government and agencies of the United Nations System coordinate actions to mitigate the effects of Hurricane Fiona in the DR
The Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development coordinated a meeting with the agencies that make up the United Nations System in the country and most of the State institutions that act under Decree 537-22, with the objective of identifying and coordinating the needs of the country in terms of international cooperation after the passage of Hurricane Fiona through the country.
The meeting also took stock of the specific damages caused by the atmospheric phenomenon and learned about the actions that government entities have been carrying out to collaborate with the immediate recovery of the areas that have been most affected.
Decree 537-22 declares “emergency purchase procedures” to deal with the damages caused by Hurricane Fiona, in order to help the provinces of La Altagracia, La Romana, El Seibo, Samaná, Hato Mayor, María Trinidad Sánchez, Duarte and Monte Plata.
The meeting was headed by the Vice Minister of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, Olaya Dotel, and the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in the Dominican Republic, Mauricio Ramírez Villegas.
Deputy Minister Dotel stressed the importance of knowing and grouping the aid needs of the country as a result of the damage caused by the recent hurricane, in order to provide solutions to the priorities through the international cooperation mechanisms offered by the agencies of the United Nations System.
He added that the Ministry of Economy, the governing body of Non-Reimbursable International Cooperation in the country, is making efforts to align the priorities of the country with the resources available for cooperation, in coordination with all the institutions of the State, so that an immediate response can be given to the needs identified.
Ramírez Villegas pointed out that the United Nations is committed to generating alliances with actors in order to guarantee greater interaction and an effective response to the country’s priority needs. He emphasized the importance that the solutions to the problems caused by the hurricane be sustainable over time in order to have a long-term recovery.
“It is important to respond to the emergency thinking in the long term so that the conditions are sustainable, building better and with sustainability”.
In this sense, the representatives of the Dominican State institutions presented a balance of the actions they are carrying out in the affected territories and identified the immediate needs from their competencies, in order to continue unifying efforts and establish the priorities of the most affected areas of the country.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the agencies that make up the United Nations System:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in addition to the World Bank.
Also present were representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Health, Tourism, Agriculture, the Supérate Program, Civil Defense, INDRHI, INAPA, INESPRE, PROMESE/CAL, the Vice-Ministry of Territorial Planning and Regional Development, and the Electricity Transmission Company (ETED), among others.
The Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development was represented by Vice-Minister Domingo Matías and Manuel Robles, Director of the Ministry’s Office.
