Ms. Mohammed spoke at the opening of the Global Platform Saturday for Disaster risk reduction – the first international forum on this issue since its inception COVID-19 pandemic – brings together governments, the United Nations and key stakeholders.
During the three-day meeting, participants will review the implementation of a 2015 agreement called the Sendai Framework, which aims to protect development achievements from the risk of disaster.
Resilient future
The The Deputy Chief of the United Nations Office said to the participants that the world is looking for a forum for leadership, wisdom, and expertise.
“The decisions you make can play an important role in averting another disaster like the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. “We can – and we must – work uncompromisingly behind preventing and mitigating risk, and building a future that is safe, sustainable, resilient and equitable for all. People.”
The disaster has hindered global efforts to achieve Sustainable development goals (SDGs).
© UNDRR
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed (third left) visits the UN pavilion in Indonesia at the first post-pandemic global disaster summit in Bali.
Lessons from COVID-19
Emphasizing the urgent need, Ms. Mohammed outlined four areas for action, starting with learning from the pandemic.
“We must ensure coherence and better implementation of the humanitarian development relationship. That means improved risk management. Because despite our efforts, creating risk is going far beyond minimizing risk,” she said.
Ms. Mohammed noted that currently, there is no governance framework in place to manage risks and minimize their impact. She said the United Nations’ 2022 Global Assessment Report, released last month, shows ways in which governance systems can evolve to better address systemic risks.
The report “clarifies that in a world full of uncertainty, understanding and reducing risk are fundamental to achieving sustainable development,” she added.
Invest in data
For her second point, Ms. Mohammed emphasized the importance of investing in stronger data capabilities.
She points to “new multilateral tools” in the field, such as the United Nations Complex Risk Analysis Fund, which support a “data ecosystem” that can predict, prevent and respond. better with complex threats, before they turn into full-blown disaster
“This includes jointly developing risk analytics and investing in data and orchestration infrastructures that enable knowledge sharing and joint predictive action. Such investments will help us get through complex risks earlier, faster and in a more targeted and efficient way,” she said.
© WFP / Giulio d’Adamo
Mangroves act as a protective ecosystem for the community of Punta de Miguel near Ecuador’s border with Colombia.
Support vulnerable countries
As the world’s least developed countries and small island developing nations disproportionately suffer from disasters, her third view focuses on focusing more on them.
Disasters in these countries could wipe out development progress and economic growth for decades, she said, with very serious long-term social and economic consequences.
“We urgently need to strengthen international cooperation for disaster risk reduction and prevention in the most vulnerable countries and for the most vulnerable communities, including women and children,” she said. girls, people with disabilities, the poor, marginalized and isolated.
Early warning saves lives
Ms. Mohammed lists the provision of an Early Warning System as an example of an effective measure that provides a significant return on investment.
She said the Secretary-General of the United Nations had asked the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to present a plan of action at the next United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), to be held in Egypt in November, aimed at ensuring that everyone on earth is covered by the Landscape System. Early notice within 5 years.
For her final point, Ms Mohammed called for the public and financial sectors to be “risk-proof”, saying “we need to ‘think about resilience’, taking into account the costs reality of disasters and incentivizing risk reduction, to prevent disaster damage spirals. ”
Governments also need to incorporate disaster risk reduction into financial frameworks, while “alternative measures, beyond Gross Domestic Product, should take into account disaster risk and resilience”.
UN photo / Rick Bajornas
Aerial view of the damage caused by Hurricane Irma in Antigua and Barbuda (2017).
Resilience ‘must be our mantra’: Shahid
The President of the United Nations General AssemblyAbdulla Shahid, says an important lesson of COVID and the climate crisis is that those who are furthest behind and those who suffer the most are “frequently wiped out by any crisis.” happen”.
“Our recovery from the pandemic must reflect this knowledge. Resilience, has to be our mantra,” he said.
“Every new building, every new social program, every budget and every initiative must be designed and implemented in such a way that decrease risk. It has to be embedded in everything we do, right from the start and cross-checked at every step of the way.
And the importance, are notthe the needthis will only increase. ”
Mr. Shahid said the request now was “transformational recovery”, filling gaps in economic, social and environmental policies as well as production and consumption.
“Everything about the way we live on this planet, must now be viewed through the lens of prevention, keeping in mind the instability that exists, and the laser focused on filling the voids and strengthening the room. player.
Such a recovery, he said, “requires more than policy, it requires whole-of-society ownership.”
Seize the opportunity
The Seventh Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and is being hosted by the Government of Indonesia.
President Joko Widodo said his country was prone to disaster.
“In 2022, as of May 23, 1,300 disasters have occurred, and in a month, an average of 500 earthquakes occur,” he said.
“Therefore, at the Global Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction, today the Indonesian government presented the world with the concept of resilience as a solution to mitigate all forms of disasters, including pandemics.”
President Widodo also called on all countries to be “committed and serious” in implementing the Sendai Framework.
