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Displaying 45 of about 54 resultsThe COVID-19 pandemic was in many an unexpected event that caught the world off guard. The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Risks Report, for example, did not include pandemics in its list of 10 most likely risks.
However, while the pandemic was unexpected, it was not unavoidable.
A number of global framework and guidelines were developed in recent…
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on countries in the Asia- Pacific region. Not only have the health consequences led to over 170,000 deaths in the region, but the socio-economic costs have exceeded those of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The cascading impacts of this health emergency have affected every sector, with the poore…
Suva – Pacific island countries are seeking to broaden and strengthen their disaster risk financing strategies as a key element of addressing the ongoing Climate Emergency.
With climate change remaining the biggest threat – even in the era of a pandemic – there is a pressing need for countries to invest in financial protection measures to enable quic…
Following on from the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction (APP-DRR) Forum, a series of thematic consultations were organized to identify priority actions to be considered at the 2021 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR).
The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Australian Government…
In 2019, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Global Assessment Report called on countries to abandon “hazard-by-hazard” risk management, in favour of a holistic approach that examines risk in the context of its impact in systems, including cascading impacts.
A year later, the COVID-19 pandemic presented the world with an un…
Since the start of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction in 1989, the world has seen great progress in reducing disaster losses. Most notably, in the area of reducing disaster-related mortality. Many of these advances were a result of changes in how countries approach and govern disaster risks, which in turn were spurred by lessons lea…
BANGKOK – In 2016, Thailand helped formulate the “Bangkok Principles” which seek to integrate health into disaster risk reduction. Now, the country is mainstreaming the principles domestically to safeguard against the next health emergency.
Soon after the world agreed to adopt the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, Thailand hosted…
Less than a month after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Harold slammed into Vanuatu devastating large parts of this Pacific small island developing state. As several other countries in the Asia-Pacific region enter their cyclone, drought, heatwaves or monsoon seasons, the potential for…
Trusted, accurate, simple, and widely shared risk information saves lives, particularly when it reaches ‘the last mile’ and is used by vulnerable communities. This is the case in all communities, countries and disasters, including during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
However, several weeks into this global crisis, it is also clear that a ‘parallel un…
The year 2020 saw Asia-Pacific deal with the dual occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic along with climate-related disasters, which triggered cascading impacts across sectors. As the region was already not projected to achieve any of the Sustainable Development Goals, the impacts of these disasters made their attainment even more difficult. Moreover, the…
The Earth’s natural ecosystems and physical environment in which communities live are rapidly deteriorating and, in turn, increasing the risk of premature morbidity and mortality of people worldwide. Hydrometeorological hazards are concentrating contaminants from the damaged environment and exposing large populations of vulnerable people to serious heal…
COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on businesses across Asia-Pacific. Many are closed while others are struggling to maintain operations while ensuring the safety of their workers. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs)- which comprise more than 90% of all businesses in most Asia-Pacific countries- are especially hard hit. However, busi…
As the first region to be impacted by COVID-19, Asia-Pacific has become the testing ground for innovations and solutions to tackle this global disaster.
UNDRR’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific will be organizing over the coming weeks a series of webinars on the COVID-19 disaster. These webinars will distil in 60 minutes the most relevant…
KOBE – The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the global roadmap to reduce disaster losses and strengthening the processes for doing so by 2030, highlights the pivotal role of stakeholders working in science, engineering, technology, and innovation (SETI). In particular, it states that science and traditional knowledge are…
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been most acutely felt at the local level. That is also where response and recovery efforts have been most critical.
When a disaster strikes, its impacts and effects are most acutely felt at the local level. COVID-19 has been no exception as cities have been at the forefront of combating the pandemic’s spread an…