Africa stakes out its position on HFA and the post-2015 development agenda

ARUSHA, 15 February 2013 - The 4th Africa Regional Platform concluded today with a detailed set of commitments and recommendations on the complex challenges Africa faces due to surging economic growth, rapid urbanization, climate change and a wide range of natural hazards. (These will be made available on unisdr.org and preventionweb.net)

In her closing statement, UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlstrom, congratulated the participants from 40 countries across Africa for their contribution to shaping the international framework for disaster risk reduction which will follow on from the current Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) which expires in 2015.

Ms. Wahlström said: "This Regional Platform has shown that disaster risk reduction is centre stage for all African countries and is essential to building resilience to disasters as we debate the post-2015 development agenda and the future of the HFA.

"The will to mitigate the impact of disasters is evident across the continent from the ongoing detailed risk profiling of every district in Ethiopia to the successful early warning systems which Mozambique demonstrated in recent weeks as flood waters engulfed large parts of the country.

"The trend in Africa now is to emphasize work at community level and to tackle risk from the ground up. There is a clear message that humanitarian response and development actors must integrate their actions and make better use of scarce resources to ensure their actions are complementary and responding to long-term community needs. This shift to building resilience deserves donor support. I am also greatly encouraged by the participation of the private sector, the media and youth representatives in the Platform."

Africa's governments and Regional Economic Communities will also be reporting on their progress in implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in May this year, hosted by UNISDR in Geneva.