During the 20 and 24 June, an Interagency Workshop on Cluster Coordination for Emergency Response was held in Dominican Republic. This workshop was attended by key actors from the Education and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sectors from eleven countries of the Region (Haiti, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras, Paraguay, Jamaica and Dominican Republic). A total of 35 participants attended from the United Nations System, national institutions, national and international NGOs and the Red Cross Movement.
The workshop aimed to provide participants with the knowledge and necessary tools in order to strengthen coordination in emergency response among the international humanitarian community and the national authorities and agencies.
The workshop emphasized the importance of strengthening the collaborative work in two key sectors in the humanitarian response: education as a protective space and as a right, and water, sanitation and hygiene sector as a critical issue in the response. The need for closer coordination between these two sectors to ensure a more predictable, efficient, coordinated and efficient response was also highlighted.
The UNICEF office in the Dominican Republic was the agency hosting the event with the support from the regional offices of UNICEF-TACRO, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The workshop was facilitated by a professional team from CARE International, International Federation of Red Cross, UNICEF and PAHO.