UN Urges FG To Prioritise Disaster Risk Reduction

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has called on the Federal Government to prioritise disaster risk reduction in infrastructural development to accelerate economic growth and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In a message, yesterday, to mark the 2019 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, Guterres said “there is a strong economic case for climate resilience and reducing the risk of disasters’’.
He stated that climate resilience and disaster risk reduction must be central to the trillions of dollars that would be invested in new housing, schools, hospitals and infrastructure over the coming decade.
The UN scribe noted that besides being the right thing to do, investment in disaster reduction and climate resilience could also ease and prevent human misery and drive economic development.
“It creates jobs, saves money and, for every dollar invested, six dollars can be saved,’’ the UN chief said.
Guterres also pointed out the “horrendous suffering” that disasters can inflict and the decades of development gains wiped out “in an instant”.
He, therefore, called for “greater focus on urgent climate action’’.
The secretary-general also stressed the need for disaster risk reduction to be at the heart of actions towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Observed on October 13 annually, the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction was established by the UN General Assembly in 1989 to raise public awareness about disaster reduction.
The theme for this year’s edition, “Reduce Disaster Damage to Critical Infrastructure and Disruption of Basic Services”, focuses on reducing damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services.