The COVID-19 pandemic has caused social, economic, and health crises, and in particular, has severely affected people in vulnerable situations. To leave no one behind in the response to and recovery from the pandemic, faith actors and faith-based organizations (FBOs) have connected with individuals at the grassroots level.

In this presentation, Soka Gakkai International will showcase relevant experiences in Japan and share the findings of a joint research project together with other FBOs, in the hope of advancing global DRR efforts.

This presentation shares findings from a policy review that shows the connections between disaster risk reduction and health, in existing policies at the regional and sub-regional levels in Asia and the Pacific. It also reviews how these policies address human rights and gender equality, which are drivers of vulnerability to both disaster and health risks, at the intersection of the two arenas. While policies have increasingly interwoven health and disaster risk reduction, most miss human rights and gender issues in this interlocking policy nexus.

As the population is growing and urbanization is progressing, higher numbers of people are exposed to disaster risks, especially in developing countries. Climate change is further worsening the impacts of existing risks and introducing new ones. To date, various international arenas have recommended increasing investment in DRR. The Sendai Framework for DRR, adopted by the UN member states in 2015 during the Third UN World Conference on DRR, emphasizes investment as a priority for decreasing disaster risks and losses. It is imperative that countries need to invest more in disaster risk reduction (DRR) as well as climate change adaptation (CCA) not only to minimize their impacts but also to build resilience.

The Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Early Action (AMHEWAS) Programme strengthens continental, regional and national capacities to collect, exchange and analyse data relevant to multi-disaster and impact-based early warning systems and cross-border disaster risk management in Africa.

Social protection has deep relevance for CCA, DRR and Disaster Response, and can be a mechanism to support people when they need it the most. However, not all social protection systems are geared to respond to covariate shocks. UNICEF has developed a tool that helps to assess the preparedness of social protection systems & incrementally strengthen them. This tool creates a unique opportunity for DRR and social protection stakeholders to collaborate on operationalizing the priority actions outlined in the Sendai Framework for DRR. This session presents the tool & an example of its application.

Flooding is a natural hazard that inflicts devastating consequences on many communities in Nigeria; it occurs every year and causes loss of life, livelihood and infrastructure to most vulnerable communities. Despite the fact that the governments of the country are making excellent efforts to reduce the risks of flooding in Nigeria, there is a slight gap in access and communication flood hazard early warning information, especially at the community level.

Based on the backdrop, Taiwo founded an initiative called the Geohazard Risk Mapping Initiative. A youth-led initiative that brings together youths to contribute to achieving Priority 1 and 4 of the Sendai framework, and improves flood preparedness in Nigeria using advanced geospatial technology to collectively map the susceptibility level of the community to floods during the 2021 raining season.

The current COVID-19 epidemic has become the strongest indication that governance capacities at various levels of government fall short of delivering adequate responses to Complex, Global Emergencies (CGE). This session brings together actionable information, suitable frameworks, and principles to navigate the new demands for local governments leading responses to CGE. These results come from the Emergency Governance Initiative EGI — an initiative by LSE Cities, UCLG and Metropolis — that aims to build institutional capacities for more effective territorial responses to CGE.

This video provides a short explanation of a national pool of risk assessment experts as a way for Indonesia to overcome the critical lack of risk assessors with national quality standards to support regional sub-national governments with scientific and evidence-based risk assessment.

In this Ignite Stage session, the CADRI Partners - UN & IFRC - will present what the CADRI Tool can deliver for governments. The tool has been designed to support countries in their efforts to strengthening their national and local capacities to reduce disaster and climate related risks. It is a ground breaking offer to governments to help identify the best adapted policies, methodologies, tools, or financing mechanisms to help address the risks they face in different sectors. The tool is meant to support governments to shift from response centric systems to risk informed planning.

This presentation is about the NTT Province Government learnings from their response to Tropical Cyclone Seroja. It elaborates on five learnings, four innovations that the government has undertaken upon the learnings, and explains the emerging results and changes. Inclusive and collaborative preparedness, as well as good data and information management are key.