UNDRR News

On 19 January, the International Recovery Forum 2022 concluded with a strong call to prioritize preparedness for recovery and invest in resilience before a disaster strikes.

Campinas, Medellin, and Mexico City became the first three cities in the Americas and the Caribbean region to be recognized as "Resilience Hubs" of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative. The announcement was made on December 21, 2021, closing the first year of the MCR2030 initiative's activities.  These cities became Resilience Hubs for their commitment as well as progressive policy and advocacy work to address disaster and climate risks. They will serve as Resilience Hubs for the next three years continue developing their disaster resilience while inspiring other cities to do the same.

Scaled-up, effective international partnerships that strengthen disaster and climate resilience, such as MCR2030, add immense value. They help cities protect hard-earned development gains, save lives and livelihoods, and keep people out of poverty. We want to encourage more cities to join MCR2030, as well as more service providers to be part of this endeavour so that we can achieve SDG11 by 2030.

While COVID-19 keeps challenging all five countries of Central Asia at an unprecedented scale, through existing programs, the EU supports both resilient and sustainable political and economic frameworks that can prepare governments for future emergencies.

Our most precious natural resource is all around us; it’s in our homes and places of work… usually not more than an arms-length away. Essential to our being, water is a human right. And yet when linked with disasters or hazards, we are often at water’s mercy. It is clear that water-related hazards are a threat on the rise. In the last fifty years, climate-related hazards, including those linked to water - floods, landslides, tsunamis, storms, and droughts – have been growing in both frequency and intensity. The damage has been profound. Floods alone have amounted to economic losses of US$ 115 billion, while droughts resulted in 650,000 deaths. As a warming climate intensifies the water cycle, more intense droughts, rainfall and flooding are inevitable.

UNDRR is glad to announce that the Information Note for Participants (INP) for the seventh session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2022) is now available in the six official languages of the United Nations.

From the perspective of disaster risk reduction, which is a main theme of this conference, and from that of my agency, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the concern about the risks posed by water-related hazards is increasing to say the least. There is no doubt that water-related hazards, too much or too less, are growing in intensity and frequency.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is glad to announce that the application for Side Events of the seventh session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2022) is now open!

While hazards may be natural, disasters are not. The choices we make can either increase or decrease risk. As the planet slowly warms, parliamentarians can help. Indeed, they can L.A.B.O.R. for resilience.

December 2021 – The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS), launched the “Women’s Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction: Examples from the Arab States,” the first of its kind in the Arab States region, a compilation of best practices drawing from documented experiences of mainstreaming gender in disaster risk reduction. The experiences are collected through desk review and consultation with experts.