UNDRR News

Social workers can play a crucial part in helping to reduce the risk of disasters thanks to their role in the communities of which they are themselves members, Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction said here today.

Volunteers in Nicaragua are deploying the graphic power of comics to spread the message that disasters are not natural but a result of the collective failure of communities to cope with hazards.

Like much of the continent, East Africa is frequently exposed to natural threats such as floods, droughts and landslides, as well as epidemics and man-made hazards, of all which affect livelihoods and development across the region.

The government of Thailand today announced details of a new five-year national disaster prevention and mitigation plan which incorporates the priorities for action of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Disaster risk reduction needs to be a key component of development in order to secure sustainable results, UNISDR’s head Ms. Margareta Wahlström told a key meeting in Central America, one the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world.

When it comes to quick wins on reducing deaths from man-made hazards, improving the quality of the air that we breathe would be a good start.

New Zealand has signalled its strong commitment to adopt a ‘whole of society approach’ to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Bangladesh, one of the most hazard-prone and climate-vulnerable countries in the world, is widely recognised as a leader in tackling the threat of disasters. Policymakers and practitioners in the South Asian nation are ramping up their efforts to make their country even more resilient as they move to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Sendai Framework identifies partnership with the private sector as a vital element in global efforts to reduce disaster risk. This strategic and inclusive approach is already a reality in hazard-prone Da Nang, on Viet Nam’s Central Coast.

Central American countries are driving forward to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a global pact which focuses strongly on regional cooperation and the incorporation of integrated disaster risk management within existing national development priorities and policies.