PEER aims to enhance the response capacity of local, regional, and national disaster management agencies.

Since 1998, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) has supported the Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER), a regional initiative focused on enhancing disaster preparedness through the development of professional emergency responders and instructors. With USAID/OFDA support, the American Red Cross (AmCross), the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, and the Kathmandu-based National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) have worked in close coordination with local, regional, and national disaster management authorities and communities in Nepal and several other South Asian countries to strengthen and institutionalize sustainable disaster preparedness training programs and advance emergency response systems.