CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) – The United Nations called on the international community to solidify its actions to better cope with disaster relief amidst global pressures from climate change, Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, told media in Cancun on Thursday (May 25).
Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Platform For Disaster Risk Reduction Conference, she said substantial progress was being made in order to better protect people and cut losses from natural catastrophes.
She said, however, that more resources needed to be pumped in as governments struggled with competing demands for already stretched budgets.
Mohammed said the Cancun conference marked a move from commitment to action aimed at implementing the Sendai Framework goals, and a shift toward managing disaster risk rather than dealing with the aftermath of catastrophes.
The seven Sendai targets also include curbing disruption to services such as health and education, and widening access to early warning systems and public disaster risk information.
Urging countries to step up efforts to meet the Sendai goals, the UN has called on them to assess the risks to critical infrastructure by 2019, improve collection of disaster data, allocate budgets for disaster risk reduction, and strengthen building codes and regulatory frameworks.
The UN has offered logistical support to reach these goals.
According to statistics, ninety percent of deaths from disasters happen in low- and middle-income countries. The decision to hold the event in Mexico was symbolic. Flanked by both the Caribbean and the Pacific, Mexico is at the frontline in hurricane season. And with the country situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, its volcanoes are amongst the most active in the world.
The three-day event in Mexico will hear the views of the world’s most disaster-exposed countries as well as propose practical early warning systems to avoid deaths.
