Natural hazards such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes are
becoming more regularly and intense, increasing their impact on people
and communities and the region and continent at large must be prepared
in the face of these adversities.
The call was made at the East African Community, in partnership
with the African Union Commission and the United Nations Office for
Disaster Risk Reduction held the sixth Africa Working Group on Disaster
Risk Reduction which ended yesterday in Arusha.
The meeting was in line with the annual October 13th world International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction.
Speaking on behalf of the Deputy Secretary General, Productive and
Social Sectors, Jesca Eriyo, Acting Director Productive Sectors in the
AU commission & UN office for Disaster Risk Reduction Moses Marwa,
said the region and continent at large must be prepared in the face of
these adversities.
“These natural hazards such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes
are becoming more regularly and intense, increasing their impact on
people and communities,” he cautioned.
He said that low-income households have more difficulty buffering
losses and as such, disaster losses translate into a series of
devastating impacts including increased poverty, declining health and
worsening nutrition.
“Poor planning, poverty and a range of other underlying factors
create conditions of vulnerability that result in insufficient capacity
to cope with natural hazards and disasters,” he explained.
“Action to reduce risk has grown in importance on the international
agenda and remains an essential for sustainable development,” he added.
“The frequency and intensity of climatic disasters is on the rise as a result of climate variability and change,” Marwa said.
“Other underlying factors include poverty, low awareness on
disaster risks and weak and uncoordinated policy measures as well as
limited capacities in disaster preparedness,” he went on to explain.
“These Meetings have significantly contributed to the process of
consolidating the African Position on the Post 2015 Hyogo Framework of
Action (HFA-2). Africa is therefore preparing to lead the global agenda
as a continent that is prone to multiple disasters, high vulnerability
compounded by low coping and adaptive capacities,” said Marwa.
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) includes all the policies, strategies
and measures that can make people, cities and countries more resilient
to hazards and reduce risk and vulnerability to disasters.
The Africa Working Group provides coordination and technical
support to the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities,
and Member States on the implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy
for Disaster Risk Reduction (2006-2015), and its programme of action.
The process to develop a successor to the existing global agreement
on disaster risk reduction under the Hyogo Framework for Action is
underway and will take into account all the contributions from the
ongoing continental and global consultations.
Also, the process to craft a common African position on disaster
risk reduction has evolved through a series of consultations at the
national, sub-regional and regional levels.
Recent consultative meetings include the Fourth Africa Regional
Platform in Arusha, Tanzania, in February 2013, the Fourth Global
Platform held in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2013 that considered a
draft text on Africa’s contribution and position prepared by the African
Union Commission, and a consultative meeting on the post-2015 framework
held in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2013 that resulted in a draft
Africa contribution paper on the post-2015 framework.
The outcomes from regional platforms feed into the Global Platforms
with the aim of supporting effective global action and expanding the
political space devoted to DRR.
The 6th Africa Working Group will also discuss the implementation
of the new regional programme: Building Disaster Resilience to Natural
Hazards in sub-Saharan Africa Regions, Countries and Communities that is
expected to be operational soon.
The new programme is funded by European Commission-African,
Caribbean and Pacific (EC-ACP). The East African Community has made
considerable progress in the field of disaster risk reduction.
This includes the approval of the EAC Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Strategy by the 27th Meeting of the Council of Ministers held
on 31st August 2013, the formulation of the draft Private Members Bill
on EAC Disaster Risk Reduction, and the establishment of the EAC
Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group, EAC Disaster Risk Reduction
Platform as well as a Risk Reduction Unit.