El Salvador - GFDRR

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PRESENTATION
At the request of the Government of El Salvador, through the Secretariat of the Presidency
(Secretaría Técnica de la Presidencia -STP), a joint post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA)
mission was conducted from November 18 to December 4, 2009. The mission was composed
of a team of national and international experts.
The assessment was conducted through the use of the damage and loss assessment methodology developed
by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), and the assessment
of humanitarian and community needs that incorporates methodologies of agencies of the United Nations
System and UNDP for early recovery. The mission contributed elements for the government’s Rehabilitation
and Reconstruction Strategy and Plan.
With the government’s leadership and in direct contact with the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
Committee, 2 as well as with the contribution of other relevant ministries and institutions, a detailed sectoral
assessment was conducted. For this purpose, training and coordination workshops, convened by the
STP were carried out; conversations were held with various ministers and field visits were conducted by
specialized teams. On scientific matters, satellite images were used and a technical analysis of landslides
was prepared by specialists of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.
This report presents the results of a comprehensive assessment, based on the information available to
the mission members until the end of the mission. The opinions expressed do not jeopardize the Government
of El Salvador or the institutions sponsoring and participating in it.
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Executive Decree No. 89, issued in the Presidential House on November 26, 2009 and published in the Official Gazette,
volume 385, number 223 dated November 27, 2009, created the National Committee for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
(the Committee), formed by: a) the Technical Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic, who acts as its Coordinator; b)
the Secretary of Social Inclusion; c) the State Ministers and Deputy Ministers; d) the General Director of Civil Protection
and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation; and e) the heads of Autonomous Institutions. The Committee has the following
duties: a) to define and oversee the rehabilitation and reconstruction strategy, which includes a medium- and long-term
vision; one of its key components is disaster mitigation and prevention; and b) to establish the priorities to be addressed
in the strategic context of rehabilitation and reconstruction.