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Disaster Risk Reduction plan takes centre stage in Montreal

Disaster Risk Reduction plan takes centre stage in Montreal

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A regional action plan for the Americas to reduce the risks posed by disaster will be at the top of the agenda in the Canadian city of Montreal this week, when a UN-led conference gets underway.

What’s officially known as the Fifth Regional Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas begins on Tuesday, with more than 1,000 delegates due to attend, including ministers, policy makers, experts and civil society representatives from across the continent.

The Sendai Framework of 2015, adopted in the Japanese city of the same name, is an agreed global strategy designed to reduce the number of people who die, or are affected by, disasters: both natural and manmade.

The regional platform in Montreal, which takes place over three days, will be the first opportunity for countries of the Americas to come together and discuss how they are going to put Sendai into practice.

Matthew Wells spoke to the head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) for the region, Ricardo Mena.

Duration: 6’32”

Photo Credit
UNICEF/Santiago Arcos