On December 6, 2007, USAID’s Contingency Planning Program will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretariat for Local Self-Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and with ten Vojvodina municipalities: Ada, Indjija, Irig, Kanjiza, Opovo, Senta, Sremski Karlovci, Titel, Vrsac, and Zrenjanin. Ms. Marilynn Schmidt, USAID Deputy Mission Director, will address the participants at the ceremonial event gathering representatives of the Provincial Executive Council, the Secretariat for Local Self-Government and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. Mr. Michael Pillsbury, the Director of the Contingency Planning Program, will sign the MoUs with Mr. Emil Fejzulahi, the Provincial Secretary for Local Self-Government and with the respective mayors of the ten municipalities.
On December 6, 2007, USAID’s Contingency Planning Program will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretariat for Local Self-Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and with ten Vojvodina municipalities: Ada, Indjija, Irig, Kanjiza, Opovo, Senta, Sremski Karlovci, Titel, Vrsac, and Zrenjanin. Ms. Marilynn Schmidt, USAID Deputy Mission Director, will address the participants at the ceremonial event gathering representatives of the Provincial Executive Council, the Secretariat for Local Self-Government and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. Mr. Michael Pillsbury, the Director of the Contingency Planning Program, will sign the MoUs with Mr. Emil Fejzulahi, the Provincial Secretary for Local Self-Government and with the respective mayors of the ten municipalities.
The MoU with the Secretariat for Local Self-Government recognizes its important role in fostering cooperation between and among municipalities in Vojvodina, while the MoUs with the municipalities demonstrate the joint commitment of local government and USAID's Contingency Planning Program to strengthen local-level capacity to plan for and respond to natural disasters, crises and emergencies.
As the experience of the 2005-2006 floods demonstrated, cooperation among municipalities, Provincial authorities and Republic authorities is central to disaster response, recovery, prevention and preparedness. USAID's program assists municipal officials, local representatives of republic-level institutions (such as the Ministries of Health, Interior, Defense and Environmental Protection), the Red Cross, businesspeople, journalists and others to work together to develop plans to protect citizens from hazards such as floods, chemical accidents and other threats to health and safety.
USAID’s Contingency Planning Program is committed to support municipalities towards building a sustainable and systematic approach to disaster management.