UNDRR & ECHO: Catalysing a decade of disaster preparedness action in Latin America and the Caribbean
UN House, Boulevard du Régent 37-40, 1000 Brussels
- English
- Spanish
The event will be in English with Spanish interpretation only for online attendee.
Please note that due to limited space available, in person attendance is by invitation only.
Time
16:00 - 18:00 CET
About
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) has been providing assistance to the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region since 1994 in fulfilment of its humanitarian mandate to save and preserve lives to reduce disaster risk conditions and contribute to building the resilience of people, communities and countries in the region.
During this time, DG ECHO, through its Disaster Preparedness budget line, previously known as DIPECHO, has invested more than 321 million euros in 34 countries in the region through more than 631 projects, reaching 30 million people in Latin American and the Caribbean, with the participation and involvement of a great diversity of organizations and partners. The disaster preparedness projects supported by DG ECHO are aligned with the goals defined by the countries of the region (either national or regional) and reinforce the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The impact disasters have had in the Americas and the Caribbean, including recently the COVID-19 pandemic, the volcanic eruption in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the 7.2 earthquake in Haiti, the ETA and IOTA hurricanes in the Central American region, and hurricane ELSA in the Caribbean territory, among others, and the specific challenges facing Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean region, require a concerted integration of disaster risk reduction into all policies, plans and investment. As stated in the 2021 Regional Assessment Report on Disaster Risk (RAR21), between 1997 and 2017, one out of four disasters in the world occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nine out of ten people affected by these disasters were impacted by weather events (mostly floods, some of which could have been predicted). Seven out of ten disaster related deaths were triggered by a geological hazard (mainly earthquakes).
Since 2011, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and DG ECHO have joined forces in 14 ECHO financially supported Actions (an investment of EUR 7,818,367) undertaken in Central America (4 Actions), South America (5 Actions), Caribbean (4 Actions) and one regional supporting activities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Objectives
- To showcase how disaster preparedness actions implemented through the partnership of DG ECHO and UNDRR have made a difference in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- To share key achievements and tools developed during this decade, such as Disaster Preparedness actions alignment with key regional policies and strategies in the region and how Disaster Preparedness evidence influenced the development of public policies.
- Analyse lessons learnt and share views from partners and local actors on the way forward after this decade of partnership to improve disaster preparedness and resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean.