Universities Partner to Improve Disaster Risk Management

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched today a program that links a U.S. university to an Ethiopian university in a partnership that will improve disaster risk management and reduce the vulnerability of millions of Ethiopians.  The three-year $200,000 grant will help Bahir Dar University (BDU) create a regional institute of excellence on disaster risk management and sustainable development with support from the University of Arizona (UA).  The new project is being implemented in partnership with the Higher Education for Development.

“USAID strongly believes that institutionalizing disaster risk management skills and capacity will, in the end, save millions of Ethiopian lives,” Glenn Anders, USAID Mission Director said.  Mr. Anders officially announced the partnership today, alongside faculty from both universities.  The UA staff will travel to Bahir Dar later this week for a needs assessment and collaborative talks.   
  
The new partnership between the universities will provide graduate training for faculty at BDU through a combination of face-to-face interaction with UA counterpart faculty as well as distance-learning through a web-based portal, owned by USAID and co-managed by UA.  The partners will develop a graduate curriculum and establish a distance-learning platform that is complemented by faculty exchange between UA and BDU.  The portal will be used to manage the knowledge resources needed for the successful completion of the graduate program.

UA will also provide major capacity-building support for the newly established Department of Disaster Risk Management and Sustainable Development at BDU.  UA faculty will develop annual internships for the graduate faculty.  In addition, the project will help develop the ability of the university to offer a range of short-courses for community leaders and for disaster management specialists from government and NGOs.  Ultimately, the department will become a core repository of information for research and analysis, which will better inform disaster management and development policy debates. 
The project will culminate in a major national and international conference held at BDU, which will highlight the new department and provide an opportunity for faculty to present research.  The conference will establish BDU’s credentials as a leader in both disaster prevention and mitigation and in distance and web-based learning.
 

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