The eight-day High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development concluded yesterday

By Jeanette Elsworth

NEW YORK, 19 July 2018 – The Sendai Framework Monitor received a ringing endorsement at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) for Sustainable Development which concluded this week.

The online tool, launched in March by UNISDR, benchmarks progress on reducing disaster losses and meeting the seven targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the global plan adopted in 2015 by UN Member States.

In a statement to the HLPF, the 31 Member States comprising the Group of Friends for Disaster Risk Reduction, described it as: “An invaluable early-warning tool to detect whether development programs and economic strategies are being implemented in a risk-informed manner.

“We encourage countries to embrace this tool, and use the Sendai Framework Monitor to incorporate disaster risk reduction in their Voluntary National Reviews.”

The Sendai Framework Monitor contributed to the 46 national reviews submitted to the HLPF, as the 38 indicators for measuring progress on implementing the Sendai Framework’s seven targets also double as indicators measuring progress on key SDGs notably SDG1, eradicating poverty, SDG11, sustainable cities and communities, and SDG13, climate action.

The statement was delivered by Ambassador Francisco Tenya, the Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN from Peru which co-chairs the Group of Friends along with Australia, Indonesia and Norway.

Ambassador Tenya also urged all countries to prioritize the achievement of Sendai Framework  target (e) which seeks to substantially increase the number of counties with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020, and to focus on raising money on disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness.

“The next step would be to turn strategies into action; and innovative solutions are needed to finance disaster risk reduction.”