The Sustainable National Anticipatory Action through Preparedness (SNAP) South Asia regional programme was officially launched by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) in partnership with the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), the Government of Sri Lanka as the country host and the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. The launch was held in December 2023 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, attended by officials from the national disaster management organizations, response agencies and humanitarian organizations from seven South Asian countries.
The SNAP South Asia Programme strives to enhance disaster resilience in countries by reinforcing response capacity, coordination systems and institutional arrangements for early action. This programme recognizes the crucial role of regional collaboration in emergency preparedness for anticipatory action and seeks to establish a sustainable capacity development system for anticipatory action in Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives, by leveraging the expertise of other South Asian countries.
Stemming from the success of the official launch, the DMC acting as the nodal agency of the SNAP South Asia Programme in Sri Lanka, held the “SNAP South Asia - National Planning Meeting, Sri Lanka” on 14th March 2024 at Galle Face Hotel, Colombo. The objective of the meeting was to facilitate the co-creation of the country work plan and the identification of key priorities to support early action through preparedness in Sri Lanka.
The meeting was organised by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) with the support of Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) and the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, under the leadership and guidance of Major General (Ret) Udaya Herath, who assumed duties recently as the new Director General of the Disaster Management Centre.
This meeting witnessed the active participation of the above stakeholders, during the discussions held to validate the content of the draft report prepared on the “Landscape Study on Anticipatory Action in Sri Lanka” and also in identifying priority interventions for the SNAP programme under three key areas i.e. partnerships, operational capacity and knowledge management and exchange. The meeting outcomes will contribute to institutionalizing Anticipatory Action in Sri Lanka, a critical factor for disaster preparedness and response.
