The International Day for Disaster Reduction is organized each year on 13 October (GA resolution 64/200 of 21 December 2009). This year, it was observed October 12.
It is the most widely observed day for raising awareness about disaster risk reduction, creating social demand, and mobilizing the wider public to get involved and take ownership of the processes to create disaster resilience.
This year’s theme is “Women and Girls-The invisible force of resilience”. The aim of International Day for Disaster Reduction 2012 (2012 IDDR) is to acknowledge and appreciate the millions of women and girls who make their communities more resilient to disasters and climate risks and thus to reap the benefits of and protect their development investments.
Too much of the work and achievements of women is of low-visibility–taken for granted. The 2012 IDDR theme draws attention to the fact that women’s contributions to protect and rebuild their communities before and after disasters are often unrecognized.
The Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera says “as we join the rest of the World in celebrating this day, we remain focused on the key drivers of vulnerabilities in the region, which includes climate change impacts, urban disasters, environmental degradation and dependency on rain-fed agriculture among others with a view to create mechanism to address them”.
“The EAC Secretariat will endeavor to empower women and girls to fully contribute to sustainable development through disaster risk reduction, particularly in the areas of environmental and natural resource management; governance; and urban and land use planning and social and economic planning”.
The EAC Secretariat has instituted several mechanisms to address the disasters and vulnerabilities in the region. Indeed this International disaster reduction day coincides with the ongoing validation workshop on the EAC Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Strategy (EAC DRRMS) at the Palace hotel in Arusha, Tanzania which ends today 12 October 2012.
The objective of the EAC DRRM Strategy is to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development through raising livelihoods of communities and reducing development risks in the region arising from natural hazards and manmade disasters.
In development of the strategy, it is understood that disaster risks result from the interaction between natural, technological or conflict induced hazards and vulnerability conditions.
The strategy therefore will be linked to other sectoral strategies to strengthen and harmonize implementation and usability.
The EAC secretariat also recognizes the role of gender, women and children in social economic development of the region.
Women and girls are invaluable in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation processes if real community resilience and significant reduction of disaster impacts are to be achieved.
Women must always be part of policy, planning and implementation processes. That is why the EAC Secretariat has full Department on Gender issues to articulate the role of women and youth in sustainable development.
The EAC is collaborating with the United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction (UNODR) for technical support on Disaster Risk Reduction activities in the region; to fully integrate disaster management into EAC plans and strategies.