The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is the arm of
the USAID responsible for coordinating and providing foreign humanitarian
assistance on behalf of the U.S. government (USG) to victims of natural
and man-made disasters. Established in 1996, the OFDA/Caribbean Sub-Regional
Office falls under the OFDA/Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office
and conducts activities in 19 Caribbean countries.
The OFDA/Caribbean Program is centered around two chief objectives
which are linked to OFDA's overall mandate of saving lives, alleviating
human suffering and reducing the economic impact of disasters. These
are, meeting the critical needs of vulnerable groups in emergency situations
(i.e. disaster response) and assisting with the increased adoption of
mitigation measures in countries at risk (i.e. disaster mitigation).
When a disaster strikes in the Caribbean OFDA stands ready to assist.
OFDA currently supports activities in the Region that increase its ability
to offer rapid assistance in emergency situations, namely, pre-positioning
disaster experts in the Eastern Caribbean each hurricane season to quickly
react in the event of a hurricane. OFDA also supports a regional training
program to enhance capacity in conducting damage assessments and analyzing
the needs of affected populations, community-based risk reduction initiatives
and a public awareness program on geologic hazards (earthquakes, volcanoes
and tsunamis).
As part of its disaster mitigation emphasis, OFDA is supporting the
establishment of a Disaster Mitigation Facility for the Caribbean within
the Caribbean Development Bank, the reconstruction of sea defense structures
in Dominica which are hurricane resistant, the development of a Comprehensive
Disaster Management Strategy for the Region, and strengthening the Caribbean
Disaster Emergency Response Agency.
The OFDA/Caribbean Program is important because of the high vulnerability
of the Region to various natural hazards and the tremendous economic
and social disruption disasters have caused in the Region in the past.
