Under the Disaster Risk Reduction Capacity Building Project in Somalia, UNDRR ROAS launched a National Consultation on ‘Establishing a National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and Agreeing on the National DRR Priorities for the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy,’ in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and with the support of Sadar Development and Resilience Institute.
The workshop aimed to discuss and agree, in consultation with all relevant DRR stakeholders, on the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Besides, it served as a preliminary consultation on developing a coherent national disaster risk reduction strategy.
“This consultation comes at a strategic time in which states worldwide are working to advance the implementation of the disaster risk reduction agenda and strengthen DRR governance as the COVID-19 pandemic has proven that risk is systemic, and crises are cascading,” said Sujit Mohanty, Chief of the UNDRR Regional Office for the Arab States.
Following the workshop, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management HE Khadija Mohamed Diriye commented on the efforts towards developing a local resilience action plan and said: “the growing threat of disaster risk in the country and the widespread impact on our people are exacerbating the already dire situation in the country. These disaster events often disrupt the socio-economic systems on which people's lives depend on and usually lead to the occurrences of constant conflicts over a resource, food insecurity, weakens the social structure, causes environmental degradation, and slows down the progress of recovery in the country.”
During the workshop, the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction Proposal was presented. It was followed by discussion and agreement on the mandate, specific objectives, structure, expected outcome, and roles and responsibilities of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Furthermore, the workshop saw discussions on the vision, mission, strategic objectives, and areas of intervention of the National DRR Strategy.
Since 1990, Somalia has experienced 30 climate-related hazards: 12 droughts and 18 floods, which amounts to three times the number of climate-related hazards experienced between 1970 and 1990. Moreover, the Somalia Drought Impact and Needs Assessment Report estimate drought damages at USD 1.02 billion with losses amounting to USD 2.23 billion, while the total effect of the Somali drought is expected to exceed USD 3.25 billion.
The country has made real progress on the political and governance fronts, yet more effort is needed to sustain this progress by implementing longer-term investment strategies and building up the country’s resilience to the recurrent shocks.
The DRR Capacity Building Programme in Somalia, launched by UNDRR and funded by the Government of Italy, aims to improve the governance, understanding of risks, and the capacity to address disaster risks at national and local levels in Somalia to better prepare for and respond to disasters, reduce vulnerabilities, loss of life, and economic damages.
Sources: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Arab States
Somalia workshop
