A program that aims to strengthen Tonga's capacity for disaster risk and finance management, launched a four-days training workshop on 5 September, in Nuku'alofa.

The training is undertaken by the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment Financing Initiative (PCRAFI) Program II of the Pacific Community (SPC) under the Ministry of Finance.

CEO of the Ministry of Finance, Kilisitina Tuaimei’api, said although the PCRAFI II project had gone through the challenges of the eruption, and the changing times caused by COVID-19 pandemic, “we are very pleased with the progress and outcomes achieved by this project so far.”

She said participants will learn how the data collected from the surveys is uploaded into the PacRIS, and how it can be analysed using GIS platform to assist their day-to-day and long-term work.

Tonga’s updated exposure data will help to strengthen our disaster risk reduction and disaster risk finance.

“This will also first build upon the existing capacity in country, and secondly it will strengthen baseline data that is needed for conducting risk assessments in country.”

PCRAFI II survey tem leader, Mr Thompson Auri from the SPC said this training was the final component of the PCRAFI II Project, where it completed the circle of the capacity building process, “so you as a user can have access to the data in PacRIS and be able to manipulate it to aid decision/making planning within your country.”

Tonga is one of five countries where this project is being implemented and the first country to have successfully completed the exposure survey data collection and uploaded the data into the Pacific Risk Information System (PacRIS).

Certificates were also presented  yesterday to individuals who participated in the exposure data collection and KoBo ToolBox training in May, 2022.

The (PCRAFI) II under the Pacific Community is funded by the multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank.