On September 25, 2026, it was announced that Belize has assumed the vice presidency of the newly established World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM), a global coalition founded to coordinate cross-border disaster preparedness and response efforts. The WADM, which counts 13 founding members including Belize, was formally inaugurated during a series of inaugural events held from September 19 to 21 in Taipei, Taiwan, where representatives from 21 countries gathered to launch the new coalition.
Leading Belize’s delegation to the founding activities was Rolando Zetina, Chief Executive Officer of Belize’s Ministry of the Public Service, Disaster Risk Management and Enterprise. As one of the founding core members, Belize has been entrusted with the vice presidential role of the alliance, and is scheduled to assume the presidency at WADM’s next general conference.
The primary mission of WADM is to foster collaborative disaster preparedness among member nations through targeted training programs, cross-border sharing of emergency data and cutting-edge disaster response technology, and coordinated mutual assistance mechanisms during crisis events. For Belize, a Caribbean nation highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, this alliance membership carries particular practical weight. The country regularly faces recurrent climate-related hazards including destructive hurricanes, widespread seasonal flooding, dangerous storm surges, and prolonged periods of drought, all of which threaten local communities, infrastructure and economic stability.
In comments following the alliance’s founding, Zetina emphasized that the core objective of WADM is to build proactive cooperation frameworks that deliver tangible benefits before disasters strike. “As we establish WADM, Belize looks forward to working with Taiwan and all participating countries to build a platform where expertise can be shared, relationships can be strengthened, and practical cooperation can take place before a disaster occurs,” Zetina said.
Belize’s government noted that the country’s participation in WADM builds on existing long-term cooperative disaster risk management work between Belize and Taiwan. Officials expect that membership in this new global alliance will further enhance Belize’s national disaster preparedness capacity and increase the country’s overall resilience to climate and weather-related shocks.