The recovery plan for April’s flash floods has been introduced to development partners in two separate presentations over the last week.
Ministry of Development Planning and Aid Coordination Recovery Coordinator Daniel Rove spoke to representatives from local and international government ministries, non-government organisations, and other donor bodies.
The recovery plan will be nationally owned and contain clear priorities and actions for recovery, particularly those in need of donor and government funding.
The plan, which is still being finalised, is being prepared and coordinated by the Recovery Coordination Committee (RCC). MDPAC is leading the RCC, which includes recovery representatives from all relevant ministries.
The RCC was established earlier this year, just before the April 2014 floods, as part of the National Disaster Recovery Management Plan. This is the first time it has been activated to coordinate recovery from a disaster event.
“This year, thanks to our partners, including UNDP and its Pacific Risk Resilience Programme, we were given the support to actually initiate all the arrangements,” Mr Rove said.
The multi-sector RCC relies on input and guidance from line ministries to provide information for the plan.
Mr Rove said the RCC is working closely with the National Disaster Management Office, and other relevant ministries and organisations, to ensure community recovery and reconstruction needs are assessed and prioritised.
“Knowing some of the evacuees are to be repatriated back to their homes, we asked the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Management to help us visit the internally displaced people,” Mr Rove said.
“We sat down with these affected people to gain the information we need to help them, which gave us good guidance on what should be incorporated into the recovery plan.”
In addition to these community consultations, information was sought from multiple other sources, according to Mr Rove.
Impacted and high-risk communities in Honiara, Guadalcanal and Malaita have been identified as priority areas.
The plan focuses on shelter, transport and community infrastructure; livelihoods and food security; education; health and nutrition; water supply, sanitation and hygiene; and protection.
Environmental recovery and resilient recovery have also deemed to be top priorities.
The RCC’s goal is to restore and reconstruct lives, livelihoods, community infrastructure and services in a more resilient and sustainable way, with particular support for the most vulnerable.