UNDRR News

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.

Internationally renowned scientists and engineers will converge on the University of Miami campus March 22-23 for a workshop dedicated to rebuilding the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in ways that make it less vulnerable to damage from future earthquakes and other hazards. View full story ->

The government of the United Republic of Tanzania hosted the 2010 Africa Environment Day celebrations in Arusha. The day, themed ‘Africa Resilience to Climate Change: Protecting Biodiversity and Enhancing Traditional Knowledge’, was commemorated on 3 and 4 March 2010.

Know more – Invest wisely – Build more safely! Cities and local governments need to get ready and become resilient to disasters. For the next two years and beyond, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) will campaign together with its partners for this to happen. Get involved, reduce risk, get your city ready! > Find out more about the 'Making Cities Resilient' Campaign

UNISDR's Regional Office for Arab States, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the

The African Centre for Disaster Studies, supported by UNISDR, held a short course on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation from 15 to 19 February at the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in South Africa.

ECOWAS and UNISDR regional office for Africa, with the support of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), organized a three-day training workshop on mitigating disaster risk to improve the resilience of West African states against disasters. The training enabled government officials and disaster risk reduction practitioners to understand the role of hazard assessment, risk analysis and vulnerability mapping in reducing the impact of natural hazards as well as how ISDR partners can support their efforts at national and sub-regional levels in West Africa.

As relief continues to be the main priority for thousands of Haitians who have been affected by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Port-au-Prince, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and its partners are working together to ensure that disaster risk reduction principles are fully integrated into the different phases of the Haitian reconstruction process. View full story ->