Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, September 7th, 2015 (DDME) - The Turks and Caicos Islands Government, through the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME), has applied for Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) Accreditation.
During the week 14th – 18th September 2015, five (5) Assessors from EMAP will be in country to conduct an on-site assessment of the DDME and the Emergency Management Programme in the Turks and Caicos Islands against 64 industry Emergency Management Standard by EMAP. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has provided sponsorship for this initiative.
EMAP is the only accreditation and assessment process that exists for emergency management programmes worldwide. The assessment will examine all phases of the disaster management cycle (preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response and recovery) and will involve reviewing documents, and interviewing stakeholders/partners in disaster risk reduction to ensure that policies and procedures that govern operational activities are clearly defined and documented. Full accreditation can only be achieved if all 64 standards are met.
It is the expectation of the DDME that by conducting this assessment and seeking to adhere to EMAP Standards, the institutional and operational capacity of the department and TCIG will be further strengthened. Hence, the department’s ability to carry out its mandate to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands will be enhanced. With this expectation, the DDME aims to be the second territory outside of the United States and Canada to be granted international accreditation for its disaster management programme. Presently, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is the only British Overseas Territory (OT) to achieve Accreditation, which was granted in April 2015 by the EMAP Commission.