Antananarivo, December 14 - The project led by the Private Sector Humanitarian Platform (PSHP) is one of the first business-led emergency operations centers in the world. Madagascar's Business-led Emergency Operations Center (BEOC) will help strengthen the capacity of Malagasy businesses to respond to natural hazard-related disasters such as drought and cyclones, but also to better prepare local businesses, and to ensure effective collaboration between the private sector, and humanitarian partners and under the coordination of the Government.
The project, supported by the Connecting Business initiative (CBi), is implemented by the PSHP in partnership with the National Office for Disaster Risk Management (BNGRC), the Directorate General of Meteorology, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as well as humanitarian partners. Members of the PSHP (Telma, Viamo and Imperial Brands, in particular) supported the project by providing premises, equipment and software.
During the official launch of the BEOC at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Antananarivo on Wednesday, Issa Sanogo, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Madagascar, underlined the importance of this project to strengthen the national capacity to respond to disasters: “The crises we face are becoming more frequent, more severe and more complex. To deal with it, no actor can do it alone: government, civil society, international organizations and the private sector must work hand in hand.”
In 2023, at the global level, 339 million people will need assistance and protection, 25% more than in 2022. To address those needs, humanitarians will need 50.5 billion dollars, a historic record. At the national level, the latest dashboard of the humanitarian response published in October 2022 shows that 3.2 million people need humanitarian assistance, up from 1.6 million in 2021. At the same time, the number of people targeted by humanitarian assistance increased from 1.3 million to 1.9 million.
General Elack Olivier Andriakaja, the Director General of the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC), welcomed the excellent collaboration between the PSHP and institutional actors such as the BNGRC or the DGM. “This emergency operations center will help strengthen the coordination of private sector efforts in support of sectoral Ministries, ensure a faster and more effective response to the needs of the most vulnerable households, and a closer collaboration with the BNGRC, as well as with humanitarian partners. Beyond the response, it will help strengthen our ability to better prepare for disasters, and in particular, implement anticipatory actions when forecasts reach an agreed trigger threshold.”
The project is part of the UN Secretary-General's action plan to provide everyone with access to emergency early warning systems by 2027. This plan builds on the observation that people living in vulnerable countries are 15 times more likely to die from climatic disasters than others. It also falls within the objectives of the initiatives of the BNGRC to establish and set up the national system of data collection, transmission and exchange of information (SNERI), built up under a network of sectoral operational centers. These centers will report their information and data on disaster and risk management towards the main operational center of this SNERI, which is the BNGRC.
Isabelle Salabert, President of the PSHP, insisted on the essential contribution that the private sector can make to community resilience. “Local businesses are often on the front line of emergency response, providing not only financial but also in-kind donations, services and essential expertise. While they are often among the first affected by crises, they can also play a vital role in post-disaster recovery, supporting the local economy, providing livelihoods to the most vulnerable people and preserving community stability.”
The BEOC project is part of the PSHP's long-term strategy to be recognized as the focal point of the Malagasy business community in disaster risk management. The PSHP has drawn on good practices from other CBi members, including the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), which has successfully developed a BEOC in the past few years.
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A joint initiative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Connecting Business initiative (CBi) supports private sector engagement before, during and after emergencies. Since CBi’s launch in 2016, its Member Networks have responded to more than 100 crises and assisted around 18 million people. Read more in the 2021 CBi Annual Report.
The Madagascar Private Sector Humanitarian Platform (PSHP) an association of 54 companies that aims to facilitate and promote business engagement in disaster preparedness, response and recovery from humanitarian crises. PSHP has been a member of the Connecting Business Initiative (CBi) since 2016. In 2022, PSHP supported the humanitarian response to Cyclones Batsirai and Emnati, contributing over US$125,000 through financial and in-kind contributions from its members, and working closely with sectoral Ministries and other humanitarian actors, and under the coordination of BNGRC.
Contact the Resident Coordinator Communication officer: Zoe Rasoaniaina at rasoaniaina@un.org
For any additional information from BNGRC, feel free to send an email to Mrs RAY Sonia Carole: ray.carole3@gmail.com
For media inquiries about CBi, please contact Priscilla Lecomte at lecomte@un.org.
To talk about the PSHP, contact Vio Razafindrakoto vio.razafindrakoto@pshp-mada.org.