Japan Ambassador Endo Kazuya has recently attended the National Platform Meeting organized by the Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) Philippines in Parañaque City.
The conference was held as part of A-PAD’s project entitled “Strengthening community resilience for disaster preparedness and disaster response through multi-sectoral collaboration” funded under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects for fiscal year 2023 of the Government of Japan.
The conference was attended by participants and representatives from local governments, universities, medical institutions, corporate groups, and civic organizations from across the Philippines.
They shared case studies on disaster medical response, public-private partnerships, disaster education, and other initiatives, and exchanged views on how self-sustaining and continuous multi-sector collaboration can be established.
In his speech, Endo highlighted the necessity of cooperation across national borders and among the wide range of stakeholders in the private and public sectors. He also touched upon the nexus between humanitarian and development assistance in disaster response.
He also stressed the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration even in normal times as he also expressed his respect for A-PAD's efforts and hoped that their initiatives will lead to the establishment of a self-sustaining and resilient disaster prevention system.