Words into Action guidelines: Developing national disaster risk reduction strategies

The Words into Action (WiA) guidelines are designed to provide practical guidance on disaster risk reduction topics. The present guidelines are designed to support countries in developing a national disaster risk reduction strategy that is aligned with the Sendai Framework.

This guideline complements the ‘Words into Action implementation guide for local disaster risk reduction and resilience strategies’. Together they form the basis for achievement of Target E, which calls to “substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies”.

National and local disaster risk reduction strategies are essential for implementing and monitoring a country’s risk reduction priorities by setting implementation milestones, establishing key roles and responsibilities of government and nongovernment actors, and identifying technical and financial resources. In order to implement the priorities they are set out to achieve, they need to be supported by a well-coordinated institutional architecture, legislative mandates, political buyin of decision makers, and human and financial capacities at all levels of society.