Malta’s Civil Protection Department is joining forces with CPDs from Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Austria for a training programme and an exchange of best practices for a period of 24 months. Civil Protection staff will hone their skills in dealing with cases of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, that require humanitarian aid.
The Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Carmelo Abela, visited a simulation exercise held at Għajn Tuffieħa on preparing shelter accommodation in case of emergency. This was the first of a series of training exercises planned to be held in the five countries.
Mr Abela said that under this EU programme, titled as PACES- Preparedness for Appropriate accommodation in Emergency Shelters, Malta’s Civil Protection was benefiting from €80,000. €60,000 is funded by the EU with €20,000 coming from local funds.
The whole programme, is valued at €758,379 with €568,784 provided under the EU Civil Protection Funding Mechanism.
The Minister remarked that this exercise was a another example of the CPD being proactive in emergency and crisis management. It comes only a year after the SIMIT exercise held in Gozo. It would unite the emergency services and volunteers, providing a shared experience uniting five different European countries.
81 representatives participated in this training held locally. 59 members come from the participating countries and 22 members locally. The Maltese members come from various fields including CPD and their volunteers, Police, AFM, the A&E Department at Mater Dei together with NGOs including Red Cross Malta, St John Rescue, ERRC, EFRU and the Scouts. In the coming months, the participants will continue to train in the other four member states.
CPD Malta project leaders, Mr Frankie Axiaq and Mr Mark Brincat, explained that, in cases of emergency, mass evacuation was required in a short span of time. Thus, this training programme, involving different emergency services and assessing seismic risks and operational planning, would contribute towards establishing common procedures in similar eventualities.
Minister Abela and the CPD thanked all the participating members and their leaders for dedication in strengthening their skills and readiness to provide humanitarian aid in a crisis.
