Investment key to disaster preparedness – Loss of life can be minimized with putting money in prevention measures
GENEVA, 16 June 2009 (IRIN): Natural disasters may be unavoidable, but human vulnerability to those disasters is not.
-What kills, and what destroys, is the vulnerability of the population, said Margareta Wahlström, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Tuesday.
The second biennial session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which opened in Geneva on 16 June, has adopted the slogan, “Invest today for a safer tomorrow”. The concept is being promoted seriously.
Philippines senator Loren Legarda noted that China managed to save 12 billion US dollar in rehabilitation costs thanks to its 3 billion investment in flood control. – We need to look at disaster risk reduction as an investment rather than a cost. In the long term it will be much more effective, says Legarda.
One of the goals of this years conference is to secure a commitment of funding for disaster risk reduction from money that has already been approved for humanitarian relief and development aid.
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