Furthermore, the UNDRR is also supporting the UAE’s engagement in the 'Making Cities Resilient', a campaign launched by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, UNISDR, which works with cities and governments to improve their resilience to disasters by implementing risk reduction strategies.
"A very important requirement for disaster risk reduction is to measure your disaster losses in order to improve how you manage your disaster risk. UNDRR has been able to support the development of eleven national disaster loss databases."
Mizutori went to say that the humanitarian situation will keep getting worse "unless climate change, extreme weather events and the root causes of conflict are better addressed."
In 2020, nearly 168 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection, representing one in about 45 people in the world and is the highest figure in decades. The United Nations and partner organisations, the official said, aim to assist nearly 109 million of the most vulnerable people, which will require funding of US$28.8 billion.
Moreover, over 17 million people were displaced in 2018 by disasters. Globally, at the start of 2019, some 821 million people were undernourished, including 113 million who suffered from acute hunger.
According to the UN, every US$1 invested in risk reduction and prevention can save up to $15 in post-disaster recovery, and every US$1 invested in making infrastructure disaster-resilient saves $4 in reconstruction. On average, annual disaster losses are equivalent to 22 percent of social expenditure in low-income countries.
It is also estimated that $6 trillion will have to be invested annually in infrastructure (urban, land-use and energy systems) by 2030. "This unprecedented drive towards urbanisation must be done in a manner which avoids the creation of disaster risk and seeks to reduce existing levels of risk," Mizutori said.
To address all these challenges, the UNDRR is working under the Sendai framework which is focusing on reducing the human impact of disasters by reducing the loss of life, the numbers of people affected, economic losses and damage to critical infrastructure including schools and health facilities.
"This can be done through improving multi-hazard early warning systems, planning at the national and local levels, and enhanced international cooperation through sharing experience and technology. We monitor progress in achieving these clearly defined targets.
"If we want to reduce risk then we also must be increasingly joined up in our approaches: working cross-sectors, between and within institutions, and ensuring harmony from policy through to activity," she explained.
"We acknowledge the UAE’s commitment and its role in initiating a paradigm shift in how we think, build and manage cities.
"We are also proud of the UAE's role and its humanitarian efforts, as a donor country, to rebuild cities affected by disasters and conflict," she concluded.
Country & Region
United Arab Emirates