PPRD East 3 programme

Overview

Description

The EU Funded programme Prevention Preparedness and Response to natural and man-made Disasters (PPRD East 3) marked a significant step in strengthening risk resilience in the Eastern partnership region, including Armenia, Azebaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Successfully completed, this program served as a continuation of the previous PPRD East 2, which concluded in 2019.

PPRD East 3 excelled in achieving three key objectives:

• Enhanced disaster prevention and response capabilities of the countries involved through the implementation of advanced emergency planning systems and the strengthening of early warning systems. 
• Promotion of greater connectivity among institutional stakeholders, civil society, and the scientific community, adopting an inclusive approach to risk prevention. 
• Improved regional coordination and institutional and operational cooperation between the European Civil Protection Mechanism and the Eastern Neighbourhood countries.

A crucial aspect of the programme's success was the active participation of the countries involved, which were able to develop and leverage existing capacities in a coordinated manner, also drawing on the progress made in earlier phases of the programme. 

The programme had to face several readjustments and in this aspect, the partnership demonstrated the capacity of delivering under complex conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic it developed innovative methodology to deliver hybrid Table Top Exercises and it supported the humanitarian intervention in Ukraine by designing and delivering a daily Impact Based Forecast system which enabled the coordination of humanitarian actions within a civil protection framework, enhancing response effectiveness during critical times.

The programme also operated effectively at a national level, assisting the countries involved in creating robust institutional frameworks and guidelines to support various critical areas. These included:

• Civil Protection emergency planning 
• management of Cross-Cutting Issues 
• National Disaster Risk Assessment 
• Early Warning Systems
• Crisis Communication

The activities were implemented and tested in designated pilot areas, one for each participating country and two for Georgia. The experiences gained in these zones were crucial in developing replicability schemes. These schemes enabled the civil protections of the involved countries to replicate the successes achieved in the pilot areas on a national scale, thereby extending the benefits of the program to a greater number of communities and overall improving regional resilience.

PPRD East 3 ensured that disaster risk management activities across the region took into account gender equality, human rights, and environmental sustainability as cross cutting issues (CCIs), aligning with global best practices. The development and roll out of practical methods and tools for integrating the perspectives into activities, such as the Practical Guidelines for integrating gender, Human Rights and environmental issues in Disaster Risk Management, contributed to the achievement and can continue to be used by partners and other actors beyond the programme.

This initiative has served as an exemplary model of international cooperation and collective preparedness, standing as a beacon of resilience and safety across the region.

The European Commission published an invitation to submit a proposal for the future PPRD East – phase 4 programme, with the opening date for submission of proposals starting on 30 January on Funding & Tenders portal. The deadline for grant applications is 29 April 2025. Please note that the call for proposal is restricted and the grant will be awarded to a consortium of national civil protection authorities coming from at least two different EU Member States.

Outputs & results