This report provides an update on UNISDR progress midway through the 2012–2013 biennium. It contains three main sections: (i) 2012 highlights, in which UNISDR has selected 7 areas of significant achievement to highlight how UNISDR has contributed to political change, working with new partners ensuring a broad spectrum of actors are committed to reducing disaster risk and shaping the policy dialogue and resulting action to build resilience; (ii) who we are and what we do, which explains UNISDR in organizational terms and how it works to convince and connect, generate knowledge, advocate and mobilize action; (iii) UNISDR’s results and the impact of its activities in countries and communities around the world during 2012, structured according to UNISDR’s Strategic Framework 2012–2015.
The 7 areas of significant achievement are: 1) reducing disaster risk for sustainable development; 2) getting serious about the economics of disasters; 3) private sector breakthrough; 4) convening and connecting partners at regional level; 5) facilitating action in countries; 6) mobilizing action in cities and communities; and 7) shaping the framework for disaster risk reduction ("HFA2"). The reporting follows the order of UNISDR four strategic objectives, their outcomes, outputs and indicators. The progress made in 2012, along with UNISDR’s commitment to strengthened management, provide evidence that UNISDR’s vision of a world which acts decisively on the social, political and economic need to reduce disaster risk is within reach.