Proactive Approaches & Investment Vital To Disaster Resilience

The need for proactive approaches, enhanced public investment to protect vulnerable populations and infrastructure, while ensuring sustainable and people-centred resilience, was underscored during a World Food Programme (WFP) regional workshop.

Director of the Department of Emergency Management, Kerry Hinds, pointed out that traditional approaches aren’t the way to address multi-hazards and building resilience. Rather, she stated, strong partnerships, and anticipatory action, coupled with financial support were essential.

Ms. Hinds made the comments yesterday at the Putting People First: Regional Workshop on Disaster Risk Financing and Anticipatory Action in the Caribbean, at the Courtyard by Marriott, in Christ Church.

She noted that increasing climate-related disasters are mostly affecting at-risk and vulnerable populations.

“Traditional approaches are often inefficient, costly and inadequately address the increasing severity of disasters which we now face. In recent years, the globe has witnessed the adoption and scaling up of anticipatory action, anticipatory action that is acting ahead of hazards based on forecasts and early warnings, [which] offers a faster, more cost-effective, effective and more dignified way to reduce humanitarian impacts,” Ms. Hinds stated.

She pointed out that Government ownership of anticipatory action is essential if it is to reach scale and sustainability.

“Both disaster risk financing and anticipatory action require governments to strengthen their existing disaster risk management capacities to make them more proactive and risk-informed, while humanitarian actors must align with and reinforce public systems. By shifting from a reactive approach to a proactive approach, countries can better protect lives, livelihoods and critical infrastructure.

“Adopting such forward-oriented strategies, including those associated with shock protection systems, [and] improving early warning systems protect the most vulnerable as they provide timely support that helps individuals and communities better cope with and adapt to the impact of hazards, reduce damage and losses, accelerate recovery, while rebuilding long-term resilience,” the Director indicated. 

The workshop began on Tuesday and will conclude on Thursday. Some of its objectives are enhancing the understanding of macro-level disaster risk financial tools and anticipatory action, and how they can be integrated into national social protection strategies; facilitating dialogue between social protection and finance authorities, and fostering stronger collaboration amongst various government ministries, development agencies, donors and financial institutions to scale up disaster risk financing and anticipatory action initiatives. (PR/GIS)