22 July 2026, Dili – The Cruz Vermelha de Timor-Leste (CVTL), together with the Civil Protection Authority (Autoridade Proteção Civil – APC), held a meeting to present the draft Guidelines of the Village Disaster Risk Management Committee (Komité Jestaun Redusaun Risku Dezastre Suku – KJRDS) at the APC Hall, Caikoli, Dili.
The objective of the meeting was to gather input and feedback from stakeholders to strengthen disaster risk management at the village level.Speaking at the event, Mrs. Emidia Belo, CVTL Disaster Management Department Coordinator, said that CVTL and APC developed the guideline together to support more effective emergency response services.
“CVTL and APC together to develop this guideline so that it can help us especially when responding to emergencies so that our services can be more effective,” she said.Mr. Jesuíno dos Reis Matos Carvalho, President of the Civil Protection Authority of Timor-Leste, emphasized the importance of partnership between APC and CVTL in disaster response.
“APC and CVTL are like money, both sides are not the same but we cannot be divided. In the field it is us, and back at the national level it is us. So thank you to CVTL because there is always a good initiative to work together and coordinate our work to be more effective during emergency services. I hope all participants here will come up with good ideas and initiatives so we can develop the guidelines to be even better,” he said.
Also present, Mr. Md. Sazzad Ansari, Head of Country Delegation of the American Red Cross (AmCross), highlighted that the activity aims to present the draft KJRDS guidelines and receive feedback from APC to strengthen disaster risk management at the community level.During the activity, participants discussed and provided recommendations to improve the draft guidelines, which will serve as an important tool for coordination and community disaster preparedness.
Participants included the President of APC, APC leadership and technical staff, representatives of CVTL, and the Head of Country Delegation of the American Red Cross.
This activity was supported by the American Red Cross (AmCross).
