Disaster Risk-Informed and Resilient COVID-19 Recovery
DISASTER RISK-INFORMED AND RESILIENT COVID-19 RECOVERY
GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECOND COMMITTEE SIDE EVENT
THURSDAY 15 OCTOBER 2020
ON-LINE EVENT 3:00-5:00PM (EDT)
At this year's General Assembly Second Committee side event, leading scientists and academics, policymakers, and disaster risk reduction practitioners will discuss how the application of the Sendai Framework in COVID-19 recovery and rehabilitation measures can change the trajectory of development from one that unintentionally creates risk to one that purposefully reduces risk and builds resilience for current and future generations.
WATCH LIVE ON UNITED NATIONS WEB TV: http://webtv.un.org/
COVID-19 has triggered an unprecedented social and economic catastrophe on a global scale. Decades of development progress have unraveled, and poverty and inequality, particularly gender inequality, have deepened. As a consequence, vulnerability and exposure to other hazards, including the intensifying climate crisis, have greatly increased with impacts foreseen long into the future. However, policies, institutions and financing remain focused on preparing for and responding to disasters, rather than preventing the creation of risk and subsequent losses. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, current, emerging and future risks need to be considered in policy and investment decisions in all sectors.
The COVID-19 pandemic must be a watershed moment for disaster risk reduction in all sectors. Amidst the loss and destruction of disasters, recovery and rehabilitation provide transformative opportunities to achieve sustainable development policy objectives by injecting a risk-informed and prevention-oriented approach into a country’s development trajectory. Through recovery and rehabilitation policies and investments that are aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, countries can build back better.