UNDRR News

Side Event “Will your health services function in disasters? Experiences from recent earthquakes” 19 May 2010, 17h30 -19h00, Palais des Nations - Salle VII Ministries of Health and Governments face intense scrutiny from national and international actors on their performance in disasters and face mounting expectations for quick, decisive and appropriate action. During this side event of the 63rd World Health Assembly, Ministers of Health will share country experiences in dealing with the health impact of recent earthquakes. Participants will also share knowledge of how communities, countries and the international community can improve health outcomes and protect health services in disasters by improving the safety of health facilities through risk reduction and strengthening of health systems. Margareta Wahlström, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction will give the closing remarks. > View programme

The extended Africa Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction was adopted by African ministers. The ministers were among more than 250 participants from 42 African countries who gathered at the Second Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction that took place from 14 to 16 April 2010 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya in parallel to the First Ministerial Conference of Ministers Responsible for Meteorology in Africa . The ministers also adopted the Declaration of the Second Africa Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. > View full story

Although air travel in Europe is starting to resume after ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano grounded flights for almost a week, thousands of travellers continue to be affected and more delays possible with the threat of further eruptions. “We only realize how disruptive hazards can be when they have already happened,” Margareta Wahlström, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, said Thursday. “The volcano eruption is an example of a rare but largely disruptive event that exposes our key infrastructure vulnerability.”

The extended Africa Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction was adopted by African ministers. The ministers were among more than 280 participants from 42 African countries who gathered at the Second Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction that took place from 14 to 16 April 2010 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya in parallel to the First Ministerial Conference of Ministers Responsible for Meteorology in Africa . The ministers also adopted the Declaration of the Second Africa Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. > View full story

These good practices show how building the capacity of local institutions is key to sustaining disaster risk reduction, and demonstrate the immediate impact of local and national political commitments that institutionalise disaster risk reduction. Collaboration between local and national governments, civil society organizations and international agencies is another notable strength of the initiatives showcased in this publication.

In addition to providing proper visibility to the activities and to the outputs of the Programme, the PPRD South web portal is designed to serve as a multi-lingual interactive tool on civil protection cooperation between Europe and the Mediterranean and Balkan region....

More than 170 delegates from 42 African countries, including 19 Ministers, will gather at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, from 14-16 April, at the second Africa Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to discuss a Programme of Action that will reduce disaster risk in Africa.

The African Union Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), is preparing for the Second African Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The conference will take place on 14 to 16 April 2010, at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, in parallel to the First Conference of Ministers responsible for Meteorology in Africa.

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 >>>

In accordance with the recommendations of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters (HFA), in past years, the UNISDR secretariat has facilitated biennial reviews to monitor progress on implementation of the HFA at the national, regional and international levels. To facilitate countries' reporting on HFA progress, UNISDR has developed an online monitoring and reporting tool "HFA Monitor" which was used by 102 countries in the 1st reporting cycle covering 2007-2009. The 2nd cycle of reporting on HFA progress (for 2009-2011) will start in March 2010 with the objective of receiving completed progress reports from governments by September 2010. This self-assessment will provide valuable information on progress in the key areas of disaster risk reduction.