Haiti is exposed to a wide spectrum of natural disasters such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and landslides. Although many Caribbean countries are exposed to the same threats, the potential destruction and loss of life and livelihood is not comparable with the level of devastation that Haiti regularly experiences. The physical, social, economic, and environmental conditions in Haiti, the only least developed country (LDC) in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, create a vicious cycle that renders it one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. The National Police of Haiti has the function of extinguishing fires and executing rescues during and after natural disasters. However, they lack the equipment, training and capacity to deal with such emergencies.

To address this challenge, a decree was issued to reorganize the fire service in Haiti, merging functions carried out by the police and volunteer firefighters who respond to local emergencies. In 2017, the Government of Chile received a request from the President of Haiti to strengthen the country’s capacity to manage and respond to natural disasters.   

An exploratory mission carried out by Chilean experts in Haiti identified actions to improve public response to emergencies and in 2018, a programme was created to strengthen capacities, through three projects: 

• Basic and advanced training: including specialities and instructors for beginner and operational levels. 
• Instructors and administrators for the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) course for the National Civil Protection System of Haiti 
• Basic and Intermediate Incident Command System (ICS) and trainers for personnel of organizations of the Haitian civil protection network. 

The programme aims to generate a training model for firefighters in Haiti through the creation of an academy and to ensure the presence of emergency response personnel with certified and standardized competencies throughout the country. Specific objectives of the programme include:  

• Training Haitian firefighters, including beginner, operational and professional firefighter levels; 
• Training firefighters in vehicle rescue, urban rescue and bomb corps operation specialities; 
• Training firefighters on the methodology course to become instructors; 
• Enabling instructors to teach all levels of beginner and operational firefighter training in Haiti; 
• Delivering all the teaching material (manuals, guides, presentations, evaluations) of the beginner and operational firefighter levels translated into French and with authorization to be used in firefighter training. 

In 2020, a team of 10 people from the Haitian police and firefighters were trained for two months in Chile, with a view to becoming instructors and training other nationals as firefighters upon their return to Haiti. That delegation included three female volunteers who became Haiti’s first female firefighter instructors. Their role will be to train firefighters back in Port-au-Prince and strengthen their capacity to face various emergency situations. This training offered knowledge at three levels: beginner, operational and professional firefighter, and included specialities of vehicular rescue, urban rescue and fire department operation as well as tools for taking this knowledge forward. 

While the programme was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the process is expected to continue with another 24 Haitians to be trained as firefighters at the beginner and operational levels, accompanied at first by Chilean firefighters, and then continuing independently. The programme is part of the thematic axis of South-South Cooperation in disaster management promoted by Chile, with a focus on training of trainers, as a hallmark component of knowledge transfer.  

The programme contributes to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). It also contributes to the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) Priority Areas 5 (Human and social development) and 6 (Multiple crises and other emerging challenges). The focus on training of trainers and ensuring the knowledge transfer is continued ensures the sustainability and impacts of the programme. The initiative can be readily replicated in other relevant contexts.