NATIONAL FOCAL POINTS

The Member countries have nominated the National Focal Points of the SAARC Disaster Management Centre.

Disaster Management Bureau (DMB) was established in 1993 to provide support to disaster management planners, decision makers and practitioners at all levels in Bangladesh. It is a small dynamic professional unit on a national level to provide specialized efforts in the field of disaster preparedness, local level disaster action, contingency planning, awareness generation and facilitating important information collection.

The Department of Local Governance under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs of the Royal Government of Bhutan is the focal agency of disaster management in Bhutan. It coordinates all disaster management activities in the country and is responsible for public awareness and disaster preparedness with special focus on vulnerable groups.

National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has been created under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 for policy advocacy, research, training, capacity building, and documentation for the holistic management of disasters in India. The 42 Member General Body of the Institute is chaired by the Home Minister and has 10 Secretaries to the Government of India as Members. Vice Chairperson of the National Disaster Management Authority is the Chairman of the Governing Body. The Institute has its branches in 29 State capitals besides it has partnership arrangements with more than 50 research, technical and other organizations working on various aspects of disaster risk reduction and management in the country.

The Department of Narcotics Control and Disaster Management under the Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for formulating policies and plans regarding oral aspects of disaster management in coordination with various key disaster actors. The department also works as the Secretariat of the Central Industrial Disaster Relief Committee (CIDRC) which is chaired by the Home Minister.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan has been set up under Section 3 of the National Disaster Management Ordinance 2006 and is responsible for the preparation of the national planning, coordinating, mandating and implementation of the plan, lay down guidelines for preparation of disaster management plan by the different Ministries and the provincial Governments. The Chairperson of the NDMA also functions as the Ex-officio Director General of the National Disaster Management Commission which is headed by the Prime Minister and includes the leader of opposition in the National Assembly, concerned Ministers and the Chief Ministers of the provinces.

Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights was established in November, 2005 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister to take lead role in directing the strategic planning in disaster response, risk mitigation, preparedness, planning and risk reduction. The Ministry works under the moral direction of the National Council of Disaster Management (NCDM) which is chaired by the President and Vice-chaired by the Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition, Ministers and provincial Chief Ministers as its Members. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) was established in July, 2005 to implement the directives of the NCDM.