The Executive Director participated in the opening of a workshop to prepare an emergency readiness plan for the water sector in Palestine, under the patronage of the Water Authority.
CMWU Participates in the Opening of a Workshop Launching a Project to Prepare an Emergency Readiness Plan for the Water Sector in Palestine
Gaza - CMWU
CMWU's Executive Director Eng. Monther Shoblaq participated in the opening of the workshop launching the project to prepare an emergency readiness plan for the water sector in Palestine, under the patronage and in the presence of Water Authority Chairman Eng. Mazen Ghanem.
This workshop aims to contribute to preparing an integrated plan to ensure preventing the collapse of water and sanitation services, through a comprehensive assessment process in Palestine in general and the Gaza Strip in particular, given the repeated Israeli wars on the Strip.
It also aims to come out with proposals and recommendations that would contribute to reaching the preparation of an emergency plan, taking into account the plans previously prepared by partner institutions for working under emergency conditions, in addition to raising the level of joint coordination and working in an integrated manner between the various partners, including defining roles, responsibilities, and working mechanisms.
For his part, Minister Eng. Mazen Ghanem affirmed that there is a need for a comprehensive assessment process of priorities in Palestine in general and Gaza in particular, to prepare an integrated plan to carry out the necessary interventions to ensure that the water and sanitation services provided to residents are not halted in such cases.
Ghanem also stressed the importance of integrated work, as multiple inputs contribute to more effective and efficient outputs, affirming the importance of coming out with a national plan capable of meeting the required needs and priorities and dealing with emergencies in the water sector, and achieving the highest degree of effectiveness in managing all types of risks and potential emergencies.
In his remarks, Eng. Monther Shoblaq affirmed the importance of workshops that work to raise the level of readiness of the emergency teams that work during emergencies, especially in wars and other crises and emergencies.
He also pointed to the efforts made during past wars on the Gaza Strip by the emergency teams belonging to CMWU and the municipalities, which greatly contributed to preventing the collapse of water and sanitation services in the Gaza Strip and providing them at a minimum level in the areas exposed to Israeli bombardment.
Eng. Yasmin Bashir, projects coordinator at CMWU, also gave a presentation on the components of the emergency readiness plan, which CMWU developed in cooperation with the Water Authority and funding from the International Committee of the Red Cross in 2015, and which is updated annually in cooperation with all relevant parties.
The presentation also addressed the basic components of the plan, which include emergency warehouses, training the crews working during emergencies, communication mechanisms during crises, as well as accompanying works such as maintaining and coding the machinery to facilitate their field follow-up.
