The world is emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic with a myriad of other challenges, and the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction could not be taking place at a more appropriate time.
“We are coming out of COVID but the climate emergency has not gone anywhere and we now have the war in Ukraine affecting all of us. It’s multiple crises,” said Mami Mizutori, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction – UNDRR.
Weather-related disasters have increased five times over the past five decades accounting for 50 per cent of all disasters and 45 per cent of all reported deaths. Ms Mizutori emphasised the need for urgent action to reverse this trend and called on governments and development partners to increase risk financing.
“As UNDRR we advocate for at least 50 per cent of financing to go to adaptation programmes and for countries to create synergy between their Climate Adaptation Plans and Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies,” she said.
Up to 60 per cent of the delegates attending the seventh session of the global platform for disaster risk reduction have not previously attended the event and Ms Mizutori noted that this is an indication of growing interest in risk reduction.
The conference ends Friday, May 27, 2022.
Watch Mami Mizutori’s interview here:
