NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 2 – Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Italy’s Permanent Representative to the UN, met today with the head of UN disaster risk reduction programs, Mami Mizutori.
Thanking the U.N. envoy for her “tireless work,” Massari called disaster reduction “a defining issue of our time”. Italy “is proud to be the second largest donor to UNDRR, with a focus on Africa, the other small island states of the Pacific, and the development of many multiple high-risk warning systems”, he added. Italy’s commitment to disaster mitigation is in line with its high profile commitment to climate change, the Italian Mission noted.
UNDRR (formerly UNISDR) is the United Nations focal point for disaster risk reduction. UNDRR oversees the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, supporting countries in its implementation, monitoring and sharing what works in reducing existing risk and preventing the creation of new risk.
UNDRR works at the intersection between understanding risk and risk impact: reducing disaster loss and preventing the emergence of new risk. Nothing undermines development like a disaster. And there is no denying that disasters of any kind are expensive: to human life and economies. The world has been stuck in a vicious cycle of disaster > response > dependency > repeat.
But there are solutions: every US$1 invested in risk reduction and prevention can save up to US$15 in post-disaster recovery. Every US$1 invested in making infrastructure disaster-resilient saves US$4 in reconstruction. (@OnuItalia)
