BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AS the world battles with a response to the deadly outbreak of the Swine Flu virus, the Federation is now better equipped to handle disasters of this nature, thanks to Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias (FAHUM) 2009.
Facilitated by the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), FAHUM is an annual disaster-response exercise that draws military and civilian disaster assistance experts from 25 countries across the Caribbean and Central America. Since its inception in 1987, the multi-national exercise has enhanced the capacity of participating countries to respond swiftly and efficiently to both natural and man-made disasters.
Speaking exclusively to SKNVibes, Commander of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF), Colonel Patrick Wallace called the exercise a “timely” endeavour and expounded on the benefits it had brought to local security agencies. He also noted that economic constraints made it impossible for the region to conduct an exercise of such magnitude and thanked SOUTHCOM for their involvement.
“FAHUM is held every year before the beginning of the annual hurricane season. It allows us to plan our agenda and response for the season and for any other disasters we may face during the year. Interestingly enough, one of the scenarios we faced during the training was how to respond to a health pandemic, such as the Swine Flu currently paralysing the world.
The exercise really gave us insight into situations that could very well crop up in the near future,” he noted.
The Commander also informed that an Action Review had been conducted in St. Kitts to look at lessons learned from the exercise and to identify and implement best practices coming out of it.
“Over 30 representatives from the SKNDF and the National Emergency Management Agency participated in this year’s exercise. They were able to enhance their skills in communication, command and control, information exchange systems and search and rescue operations.
“Our years of participation have resulted in the upgrading and enhancing of our various disaster response plans. I am confident that FAHUM 2009 has endowed our forces with the necessary skills to handle any disaster that comes our way,” said Wallace.
FAHUM is just one element of the longstanding partnership between local security agencies and SOUTHCOM. Previous collaborations included training in peace-keeping operations and a recent conference on counter-drug intelligence.
FAHUM 2009 was conducted throughout April in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Honduras and Costa Rica.
