Press Releases 2008
USAID Training for Health Professionals Concludes
December 18, 2008
Islamabad - U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Anne Aarnes today awarded certificates to the participants of the Hospital Preparedness for Emergencies (HOPE) training course under the USAID-funded Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER).
"The PEER program in Pakistan has met and even exceeded expectations," said Ms. Aarnes. "The Government of Pakistan, as well as its people, have made great strides in enhancing their ability to manage and respond to disasters effectively, and USAID expects to continue supporting them in this very important endeavor."
The HOPE course teaches hospital administrators and medical facilities staff to assess their facility, develop an operational program and improve their capacity to respond to major disasters and mass casualty events.
USAID's PEER program is a regional training program initiated in 1998 to enhance disaster preparedness and response capabilities of vulnerable countries within the Asia region. Participating countries, which include India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Bangladesh and Pakistan, share a high risk of seismic vulnerability. The PEER program assists local, regional, and national disaster management agencies in organizing and conducting training in medical first response, collapsed structure search and rescue, and hospital preparedness for mass casualties. To date, USAID has provided more than $11 million towards this initiative.
The PEER program expanded into Pakistan in 2007, initially working with the Emergency Services Academy, Lahore and the Military College of Engineers, Risalpur. Thus far PEER in Pakistan has held 22 courses, graduating 317 participants and 126 master instructors.
Since 2002, the U.S. Government has provided more than $2 billion to Pakistan to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance and to assist with earthquake reconstruction.