Europese Unie geeft financiële steun aan programma's in Derde Wereld voor voorkoming en bestrijding van rampen (en)

54.5 million Euros to support disaster risk reduction programmes in African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. The World Bank and the European Commission have signed a financial agreement to support the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) with a contribution of more than 54 million Euros. The signing took place in the presence of the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States during the third session of the UN Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and the first World Reconstruction Conference.

The contribution to the GFDRR responds to the need of to making the world safer from the consequences of natural hazards, as outlined in the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015), adopted by 168 countries and multilateral organizations, following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

'Too often, climate change affects the world's poorest people - those who are the least equipped to deal with it. That is why this project will be crucial in countries across the African, Caribbean and the Pacific in helping people to protect themselves and their livelihoods against natural disasters by setting up early warning systems and making sure that communities in disaster-prone areas are better prepared "said Mr. Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development.

The European Union’s funding will support the prevention, mitigation and preparedness to natural hazards in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, focusing on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction, risk identification and assessment, early warning systems and integration of disaster prevention into post-disaster recovery.

“With the growing frequency and the impact of natural hazards, the global demand for a coherent and comprehensive framework to address disaster risk is growing at a fast pace. This partnership is a major achievement and we look forward to expanding our already strong cooperation to strengthen the foundation for sustainable development and poverty eradication and make disaster risk reduction a development priority” said Ms. Inger Andersen, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development.

“Several ACP countries are among the most disaster prone in the world and this partnership will be instrumental in reaching the goals set by the disaster risk reduction component of our cooperation with the European Union. We rely on the global expertise provided by the GFDRR as it will work in close partnership with our regional organizations, specialized entities and governments ensuring the sustainability of the results” said H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Secretary General of the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

The programme will be managed by the GFDRR and it will have three main components focusing on supporting regional and sub-regional initiatives, providing technical assistance for disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation policy development and establishing a fast-track recovery instrument for ACP countries to support post-disaster needs assessments and technical assistance in building-back better.

It is expected that the programme will result in reduced vulnerability and exposure, as well as improved resilience of ACP countries to the impact of natural disasters, better preparedness of the populations in disaster-prone areas and the reduction of the cost of response in the event of natural disasters.

Background on the ACP-EU cooperation on disaster risk reduction (DRR)

The European Union has developed a comprehensive and integrated approach on to disaster risk reduction by adopting, in 2009, the “EU Strategy for Supporting Disaster Risk Reduction in Developing Countries” followed this year by the “Implementation Plan” of the Strategy, for the period 2011-1014. Furthermore, the ACP-EU Cooperation Strategy (intra-ACP 2008-2013), acknowledges the need for additional action to support ACP countries in reducing the risks related to natural disasters. In this regard, the ACP Committee of Ambassadors has adopted a “Framework for the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Facility under the 10th EDF framework”, in order to advance with the DRR agenda in ACP countries.

For more information: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm

Background on GFDRR

Established in 2006, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), housed in the World Bank Sustainable Development Network, is a partnership of 36 countries and 6 international organizations committed to helping developing countries reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards and adapt to climate change. The partnership’s mission is to mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in country development strategies by supporting a country-led and managed implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). GFDRR has three main business lines to achieve its development objectives at the global, regional and country levels. For more information www.gfdrr.org