Disaster reduction is everyone's business - governments, local communities and the private sector. International Disaster Reduction Day is an ideal opportunity to remind all sectors of society that measures can be taken to reduce the risks associated with natural disasters that communities face.
The International Federation has been active in raising awareness of disaster-preparedness and risk-reduction. It hosts the ProVention Consortium, a broad coalition of governments, international organisations, academic institutions, the private sector and NGOs dedicated to reducing the risk and impact of disasters upon developing countries.
The ProVention Consortium Secretariat, launched by the World Bank in 2000, was established in Geneva in September 2002. It acts as a global network to link resources and key actors together and promote disaster reduction as everyone's business.
Over the last three decades the frequency, scale and cost of natural disasters have increased dramatically. Data gathered in this year's World Disasters Report shows that, while the number of people killed by natural disasters has levelled out at around 80,000 per year, the number affected by disasters has soared to an annual average of 200 million - nearly three times higher than during the 1970s.
Of those affected, 99 per cent live in developing countries and the poor are usually the hardest hit when disaster strikes.
Economic losses also continue to rise. The current annual average of US$ 63 billion a year is nearly five times higher in real terms than in the 1970s. But this figure mainly takes account of damage to physical infrastructure. The true cost inflicted by disasters on human livelihoods and social capital is incalculable.
The grim reality is that poor nations bear the heaviest burden as disasters wipe out years of development gains, keeping the poorest and most marginalised people trapped in a cycle of poverty.
Efforts towards sustainable development and poverty eradication, therefore, will never be successful unless greater global attention is paid to reducing the risks associated with cyclones, droughts, earthquakes and floods. The international community continues to respond generously when poorer nations are struck by disasters, but this commitment and solidarity needs to be harnessed to minimise losses before they occur.
So the focus needs to be shifted from "repair" to "prepare". There needs to be investment in measures that make communities better able to withstand and recover from calamity.
It is for this reason that disaster preparedness measures - such as early warning systems, disaster contingency plans, pre-positioned relief supplies and disaster management training - now constitute an integral part of Red Cross/Red Crescent activities across the world.
There is increasing evidence from high risk countries, such as Bangladesh and Mozambique, that preparedness measures pay off in terms of lives saved and livelihoods protected. When Mozambique was hit by record floods in two consecutive years, preparedness measures saved an estimated 34,000 people from drowning.
However, being better prepared for disaster is only one part of disaster reduction; equal attention needs to be given to reducing risk and mitigating disasters.
This, ultimately, can only be achieved if reducing disaster risk is seen as an urgent priority not just for disaster managers, but also development planners, politicians, economists and actors from the private sector.
Disaster risk reduction must therefore become an integral part of government development plans as well as donor poverty reduction strategies. Even if the benefits are not immediately tangible, this means spending money before disaster strikes.
The business sector must play their part too, by promoting awareness of risk and investing in safety nets, such as disaster insurance for the poor.
Related Links:
Disaster Preparedness
Disaster Response
World Disasters Report 2002