NDMO Niue welcome New Zealand technical support through Senior Advisor Dana MacDiarmid

Niue’s National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) recently welcomed to their team Senior Advisor of the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Programme – Dana MacDiarmid.

Due to the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Niue NDMO have not been able to progress on broader disaster risk management activities as they would have wanted to, which is why MacDiarmid has been sent to help with capacity building and providing technical advice. 

“Because Niue is just so small and the very hardworking team have been so focused on COVID, they haven’t been able to progress as much as they’d like to on broader disaster risk management activities. So I’m here to help to get that work going and to support team here. So I’m very much led by the NDMO, by Chief Wilson, and Robin and Heileen but I bring in a bit of tech-work expertise to help share capacity building both ways,” says the Senior Advisor.

Some of MacDiarmid’s focus areas include public awareness and education including community engagement and planning as well as  general capacity building such as standard operating procedures and things that help the emergency operations centre to be ready for whenever its needed.  

MacDiarmid told BCN News that her programme is funded by New Zealand MFAT which assists five Pacific countries namely Niue, Cook Islands, Tokelau, Tonga and Samoa. 

“Our programme is funded by MFAT that is about supporting five Pacific countries in their disaster risk management programmes. So we have a small pool of funding and we are basically a donor but we also provide technical support which is my role to help with whatever activities they would like to prioritise using that money for. To make sure their countries are ready for in reducing the risk of and in responding and recovering from emergency events.”

While in her spare time on the rock, MacDiarmid enjoys interacting in village sporting activities.