Funding
FRIEND, the Foundation for Research and International Education relating to Natural Disasters, was established on August 22, 1997, as a non-profit corporation. FRIEND's purpose is to promote international, multidisciplinary cooperation, research, information dissemination, and education relating to the forecasting of natural disasters and to the mitigation of the consequences of natural disasters. FRIEND is a non-government organization (NGO) dedicated to strengthening community awareness in developing countries on disaster preparedness technologies. Tax-deductible contributions to the fund are used to support the activities of COMPREND (formerly the United Nations Global Programme for the Integration of Public Administration and the Science of Disasters or UNGP-IPASD). Prior to the establishment of FRIEND, UNEPPA was set up as the United Nations Trust Fund for Integrating Public Administration and the Science of Earthquakes in Prediction. This fund was established in early 1996, with a private donation of US$150,000 directly to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) so as to initiate the activities of the UNGP-IPASD. These funds were used to support research related to Qinglong County and to hold the first international conference of the UNGP-IPASD in Beijing, China, in January 1997. Contributions to FRIEND, or specific COMPREND activities are welcome. For more information, please contact: Jean J. Chu COMPREND Co-Founder or Douglas Ling Senior Technical Advisor