Preparatory meeting for the second regional platform consultation and ministerial conference on DRR in Africa

The second platform and ministerial consultations are complementary and constitute a single event. In order to adequately plan for this important event, the African Union Commission and UNISDR co-hosted a Preparatory Meeting for the Second Ministerial Conference that took place in Nairobi over the period 1-5 December, 2008.

The relatively long gap between the first and upcoming second ministerial conferences requires an intermediate meeting to review progress and plan to accelerate implementation progress. The preparatory meeting is also needed to enable UNISDR and the African Union Commission to appropriately consult with and prepare key strategic partners for coherent intervention and participation in the ARP and 2nd Ministerial as well as the subsequent Second Session of the Global Platform in June 2009. Also, there is the need to show concrete achievements during the upcoming conference: this preparatory meeting will help identify what to report on.

The objectives of the preparatory meeting are to:
- agree with key stakeholders on the agenda, programme, conduct and expected outcomes of the Second Consultation of the Africa Regional Platform and of the Second African Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction
- identify and plan preparatory activities for the Second Consultation of the Africa Regional Platform and of the Second African Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction
- make the Programme of Action for the Implementation of the African Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction more actionable for submission to the Ministerial Conference
- discuss and agree programmes of cooperation between UNISDR and the RECs, other UN agencies and international financial institutions on promoting DRR in Africa.