Field Note: Building Professionalism in Disaster Management: Standardizing and Certifying Disaster Management Expertise in ASEAN

This flagship case of the ASCEND initiative is a government-led initiative on a regional standardization/ certification process for WASH in Emergencies (WiE) related trainings amongst member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with support from the Development Partners including UNICEF. The initiative is an effort to ensure a universally accepted competency standards, certification and a mechanism to facilitate the movement and mobilization of qualified WiE experts across ASEAN countries. It also builds on established good practice in certification and ensures processes that strengthen high-level regional capacity on disaster preparedness and response. The ultimate aim of the initiative is to expand and improve its application for WASH and other sectors across all ASEAN member states.