Under the Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER), the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) organized a consultation meeting with Ms. Haruka Ezaki from the Asia Pacific Secretariat of UNDAC and INSARAG on 14 May 2021. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) regional strategy and capacity development priorities in the region for search and rescue iNSARAG accreditation of national SAR Teams.
There is a growing interest from PEER countries to get international accreditation by INSARAG. Ms. Haruka, Humanitarian Affairs Officer in the UNDAC & INSARAG Secretariat highlighted the shifting emphasis on having national accreditation and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capacity development in the countries.
The meeting explored possible collaboration and joint work on the national accreditation process, developing the national SAR framework, policies, guidelines, and organizing training as well as linkages of CADRE course with INSARAG First Responder course. Moreover, the team also agreed to organize a joint webinar to orient the PEER countries on the requirements and process on INSARAG accreditation, and share experiences of other countries in the process of INSARAG accreditation. Currently, the Punjab Emergency Services Department Rescue 1122 of Pakistan is the only INSARAG certified team in South Asia.
