International day for disaster risk reduction is observed on October 13, annually. It started after the call by the United Nations general assembly to hold the spotlight all together on a relevant and crucial agenda of disaster and to spread awareness about disaster management all around the globe.
The main purpose of this day is to celebrate and acknowledge the efforts done by people and their communities to spread awareness associated with disasters and how important it is to talk about it as it is one of the causes of a poor standard of living, poor economic growth of any country, mass displacements, and many even today in the 21st century.
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Table of Contents
History of the day:
This day was established in 1989 after the appeal of UNGA to mark a day internationally to give a platform to address all kinds of disasters and risks associated. Natural calamities hit the hardest at the local level where people don’t have much resources and either less or incompetent disaster management task force. In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held the 3rd conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan. The region experienced a catastrophic Tsunami and Earthquake in 2011 and lost over 20,000 lives in a go.
The assembly acknowledged the misery and hardship of local communities going through a tremendous loss of life and great social and economic turbulence now and then. It also talked about how it is necessary to strengthen the facilities and capabilities at a local and social level. The Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction is focused mainly on people and an action-oriented approach to disaster and risk management of disasters caused by man-made or natural hazards or because of any other technology-associated menace.
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The theme for the year 2021:
The theme for International Day for disaster risk reduction for 2021 is “International co-operation for emerging countries to reduce their disaster risk and disaster losses”. This theme holds crucial importance as the year 2021 is considered to be a “make or break year” for delivering on the Paris Agreement to counter climate change.
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Significance:
This day is an opportunity to come forward and celebrate the progress made with reducing the effects of disaster on lives, health, and standard of the existence of people and spreading awareness about the same. Low and middle-income countries are the most vulnerable to climate hazards, extreme weather conditions, environmental degradation, and many more. It is the need of the hour to talk coherently about it, educate the laymen on the issue of concern, and mobilize political will for the existence of humans in a safe and sustainable environment.
It has been said that extreme disasters can overpower if no strong steps are taken in the next 10 years, especially in developing countries. Policies should be designed and implemented on issues like Climate Change to reduce its ravages. Countries should come together as it is something which concerns every single life on the planet.
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