International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
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Disaster management
About disasters 
Aggravating factors: under-development

The impact of under-development, unplanned urbanisation and climate change is present everyday in our work: disaster are a development & humanitarian concern.

A considerable incentive for rethinking disaster risk as an integral part of the development process comes from the aim of achieving the goals laid out in the Millennium Declaration. The Declaration sets forth a road map for human development supported by 191 nations. Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed upon in 2000, which in turn have been broken down into 18 targets with 48 indicators for progress. Most goals are set for achievement by 2015.

Millennium Development Goals. Source: UNDP

The Millennium Development Goals have provided a focus for development efforts globally however, there remains little cause for celebration since the Millennium Declaration was signed committing governments to these goals. While poverty has fallen and social indicators have improved, most countries will not meet the Millennium Development goals by 2015 and the existing gap between rich and poor is widening. Recently the campaigns on poverty have resulted in key milestones on aid and debt relief. While positive, much more is needed if the MDGs are to be realized. These efforts to reduce poverty are vital for vulnerability reduction and strengthened resilience of communities to disasters.

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    What is a disaster?
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    Types of hazards
  Aggravating factors
      Climate change
    Under-development
      Unplanned urbanization
    Forgotten disasters
  Reducing risk
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