Disaster Preparedness Programme (DP) in Latin America and the Caribbean

This is a web-based collection promoted by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean, dedicated to promoting tools and knowledge on Disaster Preparedness (DP) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).  

DG ECHO views preparedness as being critically important for the quality and timeliness of response operations, as well as being a way of improving anticipation, thus complementing humanitarian assistance in saving lives, reducing suffering and pre-empting or decreasing humanitarian needs. DG ECHO recognizes that disaster preparedness applies to all forms of risk, ranging from natural hazards and epidemics to human-induced threats such as conflict and violence.

ECHO, through its Disaster Preparedness Programme (DP), has invested more than 224 million euros in 34 countries in the region through more than 520 projects, reaching 13 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the participation and involvement of a great diversity of organizations and partners. The disaster preparedness projects supported by ECHO are aligned with the goals defined by the countries of the region (either national or regional) and reinforce the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

This web-based collection represents an effort by ECHO, UNDRR and all DP ECHO partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote the exchange of experiences, systematization and the dissemination of knowledge related to Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), as commended by priority for action 4 of the Sendai Framework: Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.’

The space has promoted relevant information from partners funded by ECHO in Latin America and the Caribbean during the last 20 years, paving its way as the most visited Regional Disaster Preparedness webpage in the Spanish language. DIPECHOLAC became a benchmark name in the last decade, however, since integration and closer coordination are needed more than ever, in 2022 its content has been integrated into the global leading web portal PreventionWeb. This change will not only give Regional ECHO Partners a global web portal to share their lessons learned, best practices and in general DP knowledge originated in the region; but it will also allow them to access related content from practitioners around the globe for an effective culture of knowledge sharing. We invite you to share relevant content as part of the community of users and mobilize action through learning and knowledge sharing.