International Day for Disaster Reduction 2013, October 13

9 October 2013

Secretary-General SG/SM/15383 ENV/DEV/1389 OBV/1267

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Persons with Disabilities Central to Disaster Resilience Initiatives, Secretary-General Says in Message for International Observance

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon’s message for the International Day for Disaster Reduction, observed on 13 October:

“Persons with disabilities are the biggest untapped resource for disaster planners around the world.”  These are the words of Firoz Ali Alizada, a double amputee from Afghanistan who responded to a United Nations survey which uncovered scores of stories that speak to the ingenuity and drive of persons with disabilities to manage risk from disasters.

More than 1 billion persons in the world live with a disability.  This year’s commemoration of the International Day for Disaster Reduction is an opportunity to recognize their vital role in fostering resilience.

Unfortunately, most persons with disabilities have never participated in disaster risk management or related planning and decision-making processes.  They suffer disproportionately high levels of disaster-related mortality and injuries.

Early warning systems, public awareness campaigns and other responses often fail to consider the needs of persons with disabilities, putting them at an unnecessarily elevated risk and sending a harmful message of inequality.

We can change this situation by including persons with disabilities in disaster resilience initiatives and policy planning.  The recent General Assembly High-level Meeting on Disability and Development recognized the urgent need for action on this issue, which is also addressed in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Inclusion saves lives.  And it empowers persons with disabilities to take ownership of their own safety — and that of their community.  We can already see their potential contribution in the many persons with visible and invisible disabilities around the world who already serve as volunteers and workers helping communities when disaster hits to cope and bounce back.

On the International Day for Disaster Reduction, let us resolve to do everything possible to ensure that all persons with disabilities have the highest possible levels of safety and the greatest possible chance to contribute to the overall well-being of society.  Let us build an inclusive world where persons with disabilities can play an even greater role as resourceful agents of change.

 

Messages for the International Day for Disaster Reduction

• United Nations: Secretary General message: English - عربي - 中文 - Français - Русский - Español - 日本語
• UNISDR: Video Message from the UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction
• UNESCO: Message from the Director-General on the occasion of IDDR 2013
• UNCCD: Executive Secretary message for IDDR 2013
• UNOPS: Video Message from UNOPS Director of Global Partner Services Office

What's New : 

Sunday is the International Day for Disaster Reduction, which this year focuses on the one billion people around the world who live with some form of disability. Find out more and take a look at graphic visualizations of the results of the UNISDR survey on needs of persons with disabilities in disasters: 

Building Resilience to Natural Disasters and Major Economic Crises

Asia and the Pacific is the most disaster-prone region of the world. Almost two million people were killed by disasters in the region between 1970 and 2011, representing 75 per cent of global disaster fatalities. A person living in Asia and the Pacific is four times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than someone living in Africa, and 25 times more likely than someone living in Europe or North America. In 2011 alone, economic damages and losses from disasters in the region totaled more than $293 billion.
For many policymakers, this is uncharted territory: they are more accustomed to focusing on problems in particular economic or social sectors rather than treating them as systemic wholes. This report "Building Resilience to Natural Disasters and Major Economic Crises", which was prepared for the 69th Session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), provides a comprehensive response to addressing multiple shocks in Asia and the Pacific. It shows how people, organizations, institutions and policymakers can work together to weave resilience into economic, social and environmental policies.

About ADPC from Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER)

• Join the forum :  International Day for Disaster Reduction (13 October)
• Watch the Videos : International Day for Disaster Reduction 2013

UN Secretary-General's message on World Food Day 2011, theme: Food prices - From crisis to stability

UN Secretary-General's message

IN WORLD FOOD DAY MESSAGE, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON RICH, POOR COUNTRIES ALIKE TO INVEST ENERGY, RESOURCES NECESSARY TO WIN BATTLE AGAINST HUNGER


Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Food Day, commemorated on 16 October:

Today, in the Horn of Africa, more than 13 million people are affected by one of the region’s worst droughts in 60 years. Famine grips swathes of southern Somalia. Yet, drought does not need to become famine — nor should it ever be allowed to, either through system failure or through the kind of deliberate deprivation we are seeing in areas controlled by Al-Shabaab.

The hunger in the Horn of Africa is but a fraction of a needless global menace. There is more than enough food on the planet to feed everyone, yet today nearly 1 billion people will go hungry. I urge world leaders in rich and poor countries alike to invest the energy and resources necessary to win the battle against hunger — a key pillar of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Lasting solutions must cover the full spectrum of food security – from improving the resilience of smallholder farmers to deploying safety net programmes that help protect the most vulnerable.

This year’s World Food Day highlights the issue of price volatility. For the world’s poorest people, many of whom spend up to 80 per cent of their income on food, this can be devastating. In 2007-2008, food price inflation pushed some 80 million people into hunger. Recent food price hikes have propelled another 70 million people into extreme poverty.

We need to break the links between poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Families impoverished by price volatility risk seeing their babies’ minds and bodies permanently damaged by malnutrition; their children being taken out of school and put to work, and their income-producing livestock slaughtered for food. The answer is to put in place policies, like those advocated by the Scale Up Nutrition movement, to ensure all people have access to sufficient nutrition.

This month the world’s population will top 7 billion people. The world has the knowledge and the resources to end hunger; we have the tools to ensure that the poorest are buffered from the impact of rising prices. Let us use them — now — to conquer hunger.

Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General
United Nations

World Food Day 2011 - Worldwide Events
World Food Day 2011 - Poster
World Food Day 2011 - Issues Paper

Secretary-General's Ban Ki-moon - International Day for Disaster Reduction 2011

 Secretary-General's Messages

Message for 2011

Each time disaster strikes, nature is often blamed.  Rarely do we think about human actions that increase risk and turn danger into catastrophe.

Vulnerability to disaster is growing faster than resilience. Over the past year, we have seen devastating floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and droughts.

Nuclear safety and the threat of multiple technological hazards add even greater urgency.
The good news is that some countries have shown how to reduce risk from floods and cyclones. Investments in early warning and other measures are paying dividends. 
Yet the economic burden of technological disasters continues to grow. Making the case for investment in risk reduction can be an uphill struggle. Yet much can be gained from spending wisely rather than spending more.
This year’s observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction recognizes the vital role of children and young people.

In Nepal and elsewhere, schoolchildren are taught the basics of home and building safety.
Risk reduction and climate change adaptation activities involving children in Cuba are now being emulated in other parts of the world.

Most recently, more than 600 African, Asian and Latin American young boys and girls developed a Children’s Charter to reduce disaster risk.

The message is clear: Disaster risk reduction should be an everyday concern for everybody.
Let us all invest today for a safer tomorrow.

Ban Ki-moon