Afghanistan

This briefing note highlights that climate change adaptation relies on the reduction and management of climate-related disaster risks and why both need to become central to development planning and investment. It incorporates evidence that illustrates how climate risks are constructed and which risks can be reduced cost effectively.

Geneva – Some 373 disasters killed over 296,800 people in 2010, affecting nearly 208 million others and costing nearly US$110 billion, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). The top two most lethal disasters -- the

Geneva – Some 373 natural disasters killed over 296,800 people in 2010, affecting nearly 208 million others and costing nearly US$110 billion, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). The top two most lethal disasters -- the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, which killed over 222,500 people, as well as the Russian heat wave in summer, which caused about 56,000 fatalities made 2010 the deadliest years in at least two decades.

In a message from Helena Molin Valdes, Deputy Director of UNISDR, all campaign cities and partners are encouraged to submit a nomination for the UN-Sasakawa award to highlight good practice and achievements against as many of the "ten essentials" for making cities resilient as possible.

This paper highlights some aspects of a meeting with subregional, regional and international organizations specializing in disaster risk reduction held in Panama City, on 13 and 14 December 2010 on: (i) the institutional framework for disaster risk

Parliamentarians from ten Asian countries have issued a call to national governments to allocate at least 1 per cent of the national budget and development funding for reducing disaster risk.

High level officials from the UN, African Union Commission (AUC), NEPAD Coordinating and Planning Agency (NPCA), Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and other international, regional and sub-regional organizations will meet in Addis Ababa on 14-15 November for the 11th session of the regional coordination mechanism (RCM- Africa). > View full story

The second round of government-led progress review on the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action is underway. More than fifty countries have already carried out the self-assessment. A number of regional bodies have also started to conduct an assessment of their progress in disaster risk reduction. The results of the country and regional assessments received before the end of 2010 will be presented in the 2011 Global Assessment Report. > View full story

As part of its Making Cities Resilient: 'My City is getting ready!' world disaster reduction campaign, UNISDR will encourage more mayors and local governments to join the 100 cities that have already signed up to the global campaign...

Parliamentarians from Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, the Gambia, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Togo, Kenya and Senegal gathered at a ‘Consultative Meeting for West African Parliamentarians on Disaster Risk Reduction: An Instrument for Achieving Millennium Development Goals by 2015’ in Dakar, Senegal. From 1-2 June they discussed ways to reduce disaster risk in the region and adopted a Plan of Action. MP Abdou Sane, Chair of the Parliamentarian Network on Disaster Risk Reduction at the National Assembly of Senegal, was appointed UNISDR’s Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction in West Africa for 2010-2011.