Havana, June 14 (PL-RHC), -- A masterly lecture titled "Cuba''s Civil Defense System, Fifty Years of Learned Lessons" will open sessions of the 9th International Congress on Disasters, to be held at the Havana Convention Center on June 16-20.

Protection of the population, vulnerabilities and risks, adaptation to climate change and the need to establish a process to reinforce resilience through training, territorial distribution and organizatrion and comprehensive community participation are among topics of discussion.

Other topics on the agenda include the reorganization of health services in disaster situations, hospital security, mental health, as well as raising awareness about risk management.

Experiences of the Latin American School of Medicine in training students to face disasters and practical examples in different countries are expected to be major highlights of the event.

Officials, specialists, researchers and professors from around the world, devoted to civil protection of the people's lives, assets, economy and environment, are expected to attend this congress to exchange views, update tools to face the effects of potentially catastrophic phenomena, and promote cooperation programs and projects in this field.