CDEMA, CANPA sign MoU to build psychosocial resilience in the Caribbean

(Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency Press Release) The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the Caribbean Alliance of National Psychological Associations (CANPA) participated in a virtual MoU signing ceremony on April 6, 2021. This MoU will allow the 19 CDEMA Participating States (PSs) to benefit from CANPA’s expertise on psychology in disaster response to coordinate mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).

 CDEMA Acting Executive Director, Ms. Elizabeth Riley, spoke to the diverse hazards experienced in the region that not only cause death and physical damage, but also “displacement and family separation, impacting lives and livelihoods and affecting mental health and psychosocial well-being of Caribbean people”. Ms. Riley also referenced the “extreme stressors for persons of all age groups” caused by COVID-19 restrictions, which have resulted in loss of income and long-term isolation from family and friends.

 She said the MOU signing is “a part of a larger vision of an enhanced Regional Response Mechanism for the CDEMA System, one which is agile, flexible and responds appropriately and in a timely manner to all hazards (current and future) which face the region… A critical part of this vision is a sustainable mechanism for addressing PSs’ needs for various vulnerable groups including children.”

Read more at: Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency

Source: CARICOM TODAY