8th Africa regional platform for DDR and the seventh high-level meeting : " Towards Disaster Risk-Informed Development for a Resilient Africa in a Covid-19 Transformed World "

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November 16, 2021 to November 19, 2021

WHAT: Ministerial Session of the Eighth Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and the Seventh High-Level Meeting

WHEN: 19^th November 2021

TIME: 09:00 -18:00 (EAT)

WHERE: Nairobi, Republic of Kenya

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86710440562?pwd=Y1ZiSjA5bFlTRmV2Q2xmUzl3QnREQT09

WHO: The 8^th Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and the Seventh High Level meeting is co-organized by the African Union Commission (AUC), Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD) and UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), in collaboration with the government of Kenya.

Objective:

The platform is aimed at raising awareness of the critical DRR challenges of the region and strengthens synergies among stakeholders for the implementation of Sendai Framework in Africa, particularly the African Union’s Programme of Action in Africa. The event will feature over 30 panel discussions on DRR related topics various DRR related projects exhibited in the virtual marketplace.

Main outcomes expected from the AfRP include:

Adoption of a ministerial declaration
Adoption of the revised implementation matrix for the Programme of Action for the implementation of the Sendai Framework in Africa for the second phase, 2021-2025; and

Voluntary commitments from various stakeholder groups

Background

Africa is facing significant a challenge from the increasing disaster risks and changing risk landscape resulted from climate change and other disaster hazards. In early 2019, the continent witnessed the most devastating disasters on record due to tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth. These cyclones affected Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Comoros and left more than 1,000 people dead and many more displaced. The forthcoming Africa Regional Assessment report (2020) also indicates that, across the 44 countries in the SSA and during the decade of 2008–2018, over 157 million persons were directly and indirectly affected by disasters, and in most cases, these were associated with natural hazards.

The Regional Platform is taking place in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, that has had a tremendous impact on millions of people, causing loss of lives and devastating economic consequences. It is tragic that less than 4% of Africans are vaccinated against COVID-19, far short of the initial target of 60% set for this year by Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Drawing the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening disaster risk governance will be profoundly discussed during the Africa RP.

Despite all the challenges, it is also evident that Member States and the AUC and RECs are increasingly becoming aware of hazard risks and are undertaking efforts to address it, with varying degrees of success. Africa is progressing in the implementation of Sendai Framework, particularly the AU’s Programme of Action in Africa. During the Africa RP, stakeholders will also showcase their good practices in disaster risk reduction and resilience building.

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Join the conversation using #RP21 #ResilientAfrica

For further information and media enquiry please contact:

Mr. Samuel Nyansiri | Data Officer, National Disaster Operations Centre | Government of Kenya| Email: samuelnyansiri@gmail.com

Ms. Emebet A. Jigssa | Assistant Communications Officer | IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre| Email: Emebet.Jigssa@igad.int

More information:

UNDRR Regional Office for Africa I E-mail: undrr-africa@un.org
Web: undrr.org | Nairobi, Kenya | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube