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About ISDR Asia & Pacific

Training toolkit and factsheet piloted in Kenya to strengthen disaster management

On 25 to 26 August, the UNISDR Regional Office for Africa is holding a pilot workshop on “Training of Trainers” in the Rift Valley Province to test a toolkit to “train trainers” in disaster risk reduction. “The outcome of this training will create a super highway for spreading hazard and disaster risk reduction information to local communities, thereby increasing their knowledgebase and consequently their resilience to natural disasters,” said Pedro Basabe, Head of the UNISDR Regional Office for Africa. Expected to attend are 30 Disaster Risk Reduction platform members from the provinces, and five regional participants from Burundi, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Kenya.

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African ministers adopt the extended Programme of Action

The extended Africa Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction was adopted by African ministers. The ministers were among more than 280 participants from 42 African countries who gathered at the Second Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction that took place from 14 to 16 April 2010 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya in parallel to the First Ministerial Conference of Ministers Responsible for Meteorology in Africa . The ministers also adopted the Declaration of the Second Africa Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

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Africa gears up for the second disaster risk reduction ministerial conference

The African Union Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), is preparing for the Second African Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The conference will take place on 14 to 16 April 2010, at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, in parallel to the First Conference of Ministers responsible for Meteorology in Africa.

The objectives of the conference on disaster risk reduction and its technical segment include:
•    To discuss and adopt the extended Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy for disaster risk reduction, period 2006-2015,
•    To define a regional mechanism and the resources to coordinate, support and monitor the implementation of the Africa Strategy and Programme of Action for disaster risk reduction, period 2006-2010,  and
•    To link the outcomes of the COP 15 to the extended Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy for disaster risk reduction, period 2006-2015.

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Africa Environment Day commemorated in Arusha

The government of the United Republic of Tanzania hosted the 2010 Africa Environment Day celebrations in Arusha. The day, themed ‘Africa Resilience to Climate Change: Protecting Biodiversity and Enhancing Traditional Knowledge’, was commemorated on 3 and 4 March 2010.

The event was attended by the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania Honourable Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein, Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office Honourable Dr. Batilda Salha Burian, the African Union Commissioner Madame Rhoda Peace Tumisiime, the World Meteorological Organisation Secretary General His Excellency Michael Jarraud, the UNEP Regional Office for Africa Executive Director His Excellency Goumandakoye Mounkaile and the head of the UNISDR Regional Office for Africa Dr. Pedro Basabe.

Other distinguished guests included the Regional Commissioner and Mayor of Arusha Municipality,  UNDP Country Director, representatives from the AMCEN Secretariat, UNFCC, members of the diplomatic corps, members of parliament from Somalia, Rwanda and Senegal, Intergovernmental organizations and the private sector.

The Africa Environment Day focused on raising awareness on enhancing African resilience to climate change and climate variability.


Disaster risk reduction training held in South Africa

The African Centre for Disaster Studies, supported by UNISDR, held a short course on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation from 15 to 19 February at the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in South Africa.

The course drew 27 participants from Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia. It emphasized on vulnerability reduction and hazard management and aimed at providing participants with knowledge related to multi sectoral and multi disciplinary approaches for reducing disaster risk and climate change adaptation in the context of sustainable development, specific to the creation of national institutional capacities and organizational mechanisms.


ECOWAS risk assessment training

ECOWAS and UNISDR regional office for Africa, with the support of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), organized a three-day training workshop on mitigating disaster risk to improve the resilience of West African states against disasters. The training enabled government officials and disaster risk  reduction practitioners to understand the role of hazard assessment, risk analysis and vulnerability mapping in reducing the impact of natural hazards as well as how ISDR partners can support their efforts at national and sub-regional levels in West Africa.

 

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Rachel Shebesh appointed African Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction

 

Rachel Shebesh, Member of Parliament of the Republic of Kenya and Chair of the African Parliamentarian Initiative for Climate Risk Reduction, was appointed today as the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction champion for disaster risk reduction in Africa during the launch of the Black and Green, Ready to Lead campaign that took place at the Pan-African Parliament in Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

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 Get to know UNISDR's new Champion -  Q & A with Rachel Shebesh


2009 International Day for Disaster Reduction in Kenya

The biannual campaign for ‘Hospitals safe from Disasters’ was widely promoted in Nairobi Kenya as part of the celebration of the 2009 International Day for Disaster Reduction. The event took place in the August 7th Memorial Park of Nairobi, the former site of the US Embassy that was bombed in 1998 which is also a public place to develop awareness. The event was organized by the Kenya Ministry of Special Programmes, Kenya Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Medics 24 and hospitals in coordination with the Memorial Park administration, UNISDR, UNOCHA and WHO. Among the participants were civil society, universities, practitioners and public were present.

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International Day for Disaster Reduction: new initiatives launched in London

The global event of the 2009 International Day for Disaster Reduction was staged at the Royal Marsden Hospital, which was severely damaged by a fire in early 2008. The meeting gathered more than 120 participants from all stakeholder groups and was hosted by the UK Health Protection Agency in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

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Related links

2009 International Day for Disaster Reduction
Programme of global event in London incl. slides of presentations
Video recording of the London event
Opening Remarks by Sir John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (delivered by Helena Molin Valdés, Deputy Director UNISDR)


Second Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, June 2009

The second session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction was held from 16 to 19 June in Geneva, Switzerland and attracted approximately 152 governments, 137 organizations, and 1688 delegates. Africa alone accounted for more than 160 participants with a government delegation of over 40 countries including high-ranking government and political leaders.

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