Abu Dhabi has kicked off the National Readiness Forum for the first line of defence and first responders, themed “Together for National Readiness.” This initiative aims to enhance skills and competencies while bolstering the preparedness of governmental, private, and community institutions to respond effectively to emergencies, crises, and disasters.
Target Audience and Accreditation
The forum caters to a wide range of professionals, including those in governmental and private sectors, safety and emergency response teams, healthcare and paramedic staff, civil defence, police, occupational health and safety officials, and personnel from critical facilities, schools, universities, and residential complexes. The initiative also welcomes volunteers and first responders. Participants who meet the programme’s requirements will receive certification from the Readiness Academy and the European Centre for Disaster Medicine, underpinning the establishment of a comprehensive and sustainable national disaster response system.
Programme Objectives and Structure
The forum, part of the UAE’s National Preparedness and Medical Response Programme “Readiness,” is executed in collaboration with the National Training Centre “Training.” Its main focus is on developing skills, enhancing efficiency, and boosting the readiness of governmental, private, and community institutions through a series of specialised training programmes. These are designed to build the capacities of the first line of defence and first responders, featuring a unified training approach that combines theoretical lectures with practical exercises and field simulations.
Training Components
The training programme spans seven hours, comprising three hours of specialised lectures and four hours of practical exercises and field simulations that mirror the environments of institutions, facilities, and residential communities. This ensures participants gain vital knowledge and skills in readiness and response, the role of the first line of defence, risk assessment, responder safety, managing incident sites, initial injury assessment, leadership and control, emergency communication, evacuation and managing gathering points, as well as institutional and community readiness through simulations of real-life incidents.
Highlights and Innovations
The forum featured a documentary showcasing the UAE’s achievements in building national preparedness and emergency response capabilities across health and non-health sectors. It also honoured several leaders, trainers, and readiness teams for their contributions to specialised training and qualification programmes. A significant highlight was the launch of the mobile national readiness training centre, designed to bring specialised training and simulations to the locations of institutions and communities, thus providing a flexible field training environment that enhances skills and improves emergency and crisis response capabilities.