The Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado, celebrated the nomination of the National Emergency System for the Roger Kaufman award, granted by the International Society for the Improvement of Performance, which recognized our country for the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delgado recalled that the United Nations General Assembly designated, 31 years ago, October 13 as the date to commemorate the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. In the activity also participated, via Zoom, the 19 mayors, in their capacity as presidents of the Departmental Emergency Committees (CDE).

The meeting, held in the annex of the Executive Tower, was attended by the Minister of Public Health, Daniel Salinas; the undersecretary of that portfolio, José Luis Satdjian; that of National Defense, Rivera Elgue; that of the Interior, Guillermo Maciel; that of Environment, Gerardo Amarilla, and that of Transport and Public Works, Juan José Olaizola.

On the occasion, the Secretary of the Presidency celebrated the nomination of the National Emergency System (Sinae) for the Roger Kaufman award. Since 2014, countries and institutions that contribute to issues of social impact on a global level have been recognized annually with this award. Uruguay is one of the four nations nominated for the award, for its handling of the pandemic. He also valued that citizens use their freedom responsibly.

The hierarch recalled that, during the first week of government, together with the Sinae and several ministries, it was decided to declare the agricultural emergency due to the water deficit, a situation observed since November 2019, which first covered some 800,000 hectares and later extended to a surface area over a million. The objective was to generate compensation mechanisms for producers and the population, he indicated.

Risk Management and Reduction Plan will highlight the country as one of the best prepared for disasters

On the other hand, Delgado reported that the Sinae began the participation process to develop the National Risk Management and Reduction Plan, a state policy that places Uruguay among the most prominent in the world for disaster prevention. Acting in this pandemic allows the country to look at the future "with long lights", that is, planning and prevention.

Meanwhile, the national director of the Sinae, Sergio Rico, described this document as an instrument for the provision of preventive, corrective or compensatory measures, in which, in addition, the role of each ministry to mitigate the consequences of floods, droughts is analyzed , strong winds, fires, pandemics and accidents in the handling, storage and transport of dangerous substances.

This year's global goal, set out in subsection E of the Sendai Framework, is to increase the number of countries with a risk and disaster reduction strategy at the national and local levels. "It seeks to convey the message that many disasters can be prevented through strategies and the creation of others avoided," he said.

Fuente: https://www.presidencia.gub.uy//comunicacion/comunicacionnoticias/lanzamiento-semana-riesgo-sinae