Date Time
Early warning initiative advances in a pandemic
Geneva, 11 May 2021: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated impacts of extreme weather and climate change in vulnerable countries but also highlighted the need to build resilience against a multitude of hazards through better early warnings and risk information.
The report “Progress on Early Warning in a Pandemic” showcased achievements in improved early warnings for flash floods, tropical cyclones, sand and dust storms and drought, as well as better weather forecasts for farmers in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The report was presented by Stéphane Crouzat, France’s Climate Change Ambassador at the Wilton Park dialogue: Risk-informed Early Action Partnership: from commitment to action
Justin Scarr
Survival swimming launch in rural Bangladesh, 2005.
Picture: SUPPLIED (Justin Scarr)
The United Nations General Assembly passed its first-ever Resolution on Global Drowning Prevention (A/75/L.76) during the 75th session on April 28, 2021.
The resolution was proposed by Bangladesh and Ireland, and co-sponsored by more than 79 nations, including Australia.
In introducing the Resolution at the UN General Assembly in New York, the Ambassador and permanent representative of Bangladesh to the UN, Rabab Fatima, said: “Drowning is a major cause of global mortality, accounting for a greater loss of life annually, than to maternal mortality or malnutrition. The imperative to act on drowning is not simply moral or political. The economic cost is equally untenable.”
We need to redesign institutions to be proactive, agile, and socially just when confronted with compound risks that have become increasingly likely. Image credit: Dave Cutler (artist).
Because the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency is a protracted crisis that entails waves of infections over several months, the pandemic will inevitably continue to collide with other social and environmental shocks and disruptions, leading to increased risk of compound disasters (1). Globally, we have seen both extended and acute periods of stress on social and government systems driven by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other natural and social hazards. When coupled with economic shocks, political fragility, and conflicts, these multiple stressors become concurrent drivers of complex emergencies that severely challenge domestic and international emergency response. Such crises present a need to better understand compound risks and prioritize collaborative action we need to address neglec
From protection to prevention: The role of cooperative and mutual insurance in disaster risk reduction
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In November 2019, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) began a multi-year collaboration to help
address the urgent challenge of reducing disaster risks in the midst of an expanding and intensifying global risk landscape.
Specifically, the collaboration aims to clarify the practical aspects of enabling a shift within the insurance industry from a focus on providing risk transfer products and services as a means to protect the insured from disaster risks, to an emphasis on prevention through disaster risk reduction (DRR) incentives, awareness, capacity and financing. With a member-driven operating model, the cooperative and mutual insurance sector is uniquely positioned to take a lead in charting a practical path
That is the title of SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s first-ever integrated report presented during its annual stockholders meeting last week. According to SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim, the Integrated Report 2020 translates the listed company’s business cycle into a concise, thorough, and transparent document combining both financial and non-financial information into one report.
“It highlights how SM Prime remains productive even through times of crisis by keeping our businesses stable, supporting our partners, and continually contributing to nation-building,” he said at the virtual meeting. In previous years, the firm’s annual financial report was published separately from its sustainability report that adheres to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.