Addressing vulnerability and building resilience, a workshop in Yemen focuses on comprehensive strengthening disaster risk management

9 September 2024, Sana’a, Yemen – Under the patronage of the Minister of Water and Environment Tawfiq Al-Sharjabi, a two-day workshop on comprehensive disaster risk management was held in Yemen. The workshop, organized by the Ministry of Water and Environment and UNICEF, and with the participation of the UNDRR Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS), aimed to enhance Yemen’s capacity to manage disaster risks, in alignment with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

The UNDRR ROAS participation came to introduce the participants to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The first day included presentations on a draft national coordination mechanism for disaster risk reduction, as well as a preliminary draft of the National Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction. A session on early warning systems emphasized their importance for timely disaster response, followed by a general discussion.

The second day of the workshop explored Yemen’s national capacity to tackle disaster risks, focusing on the case of the capital, Aden. Topics such as the impact of disasters on development and the role of local authorities in mitigating these effects were discussed. The session also covered Yemen’s 2024 National Risk Report and the influence of climate change as a major driver of disasters in the country.

The workshop concluded with recommendations for strengthening Yemen's disaster management systems, highlighting the importance of loss and damage databases in improving risk understanding and response.