UNDRR News

Officials meeting at the Fourth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction have approved a five-year regional roadmap to establish climate resilient disaster risk management systems by 2015 that will contribute to sustainable development at the regional, national and community levels.

People in the Asia-Pacific region are four times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than those in Africa and 25 times more likely than those in Europe or North America, says a UN report released at the Fourth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR). The region generated one quarter of the world’s GDP, yet it accounted for 85 per cent of deaths and 38 per cent of global economic losses due to natural disasters over the last three decades.

As a region hard hit by weather-related events, UNISDR is urging Asian government ministers meeting at the Fourth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction this Monday to incorporate disaster risk reduction as part of their national policies to cope with climate change, and with it, more predicted floods, cyclones and drought.

A mentoring programme created by UNISDR and the Stockholm Environment Institute trained its first batch of young researchers, most in the mid-20s to mid-30s, in response to a request from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for more peer-reviewed literature by authors from developing countries. > View full story

The UN system and ASEAN will commemorate the 2010 International Day for Disaster Reduction, and the ASEAN day for Disaster Management under the theme "Making Cities Resilient: My City Is Getting Ready!" The commemorations will take place on Wednesday, 13 October 2010 from 09:00-17:30 hours at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok. > View full story

Chennai, one of the first Indian cities to participate in Making Cities Resilient campaign, has launched its own “Safer Chennai Campaign” on 19 August 2010. At the launching, the “Chennai Zone Profile” report was released, which was undertaken in a multilateral effort between the Corporation of Chennai, the University of Madras and Kyoto University. > View full story

Over 13,000 schools and hospitals have joined the “One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals Campaign” since its national launch in Indonesia on July 29, quadrupling in the space of one week from 3,156 schools to 13,500. The number of hospitals that joined rose from 105 to 133. With the support of the local communication and information authority in Ciwidey, West Java Province, organizers set up computers where participants made online pledges.

On 29 July, Indonesia committed to increase the safety of 3,156 schools and 105 hospitals as part of its engagement to the One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals Campaign, launched globally in Manila last April 2010.

Three mayors from the Philippines joined 60 other mayors from around the world who have pledged to meet some or all of the "Ten Essentials" that will make their cities more resilient. A ceremony was held as part of a workshop on strengthening climate resilience, organized by Plan International, the Institute of Development Studies and Christian Aid, from 22 to 23 July 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand.

More than 300 participants from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the civil society are launching today in Manila the 'One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals Initiative' to make hospitals and schools safer from disasters. This global action is part of the new 2010-2011 World Disaster Reduction Campaign 'Making Cities resilient,' that will be launched in May, 2010, in Bonn, Germany. The One Million Schools and Hospitals Initiative with the slogan “Make a Pledge, Save a Life” encourages an individual, a family, community, organization, government, or business entity to pledge to make a school or hospital safer from disasters in three ways: as an advocate, leader or champion. “Making sure that schools, hospitals and other key public infrastructure meet certain safety standards are key steps to ensure that natural hazards do not turn into disasters,” said Margareta Walhstrom, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction. “Individuals commitments are as important as mutual commitments” she added. Official website of the online pledging initiative: www.safe-schools-hospitals.net/ View media advisory >>>