The workshop in progress.
Doha: A training workshop on ‘Disaster risk reduction and reporting on progress in implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)’ was conducted by the Permanent Emergency Committee in association with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
The two-day workshop was held at the Officers Club at the General Directorate of Civil Defence (GDCD).
UNISDR Regional Programme Officer Luna Abu Swaireh and officer Fadi Al Janan addressed the event, opened by Brig. Hamad Al Duhaimi, Director of Operations Department at GDCD and Secretary of PCDAA.
He stressed the importance of the workshop and urged participants to benefit from it.
The workshop covered issues related to natural disasters risk reduction and national coordination mechanisms to reduce risks. The national programme to reduce risks and models of best practice and how to implement them was also highlighted, along with implementation and monitoring of HFA and how they can monitor and report on progress and indicators to measure it. Abu Swaireh praised the committee’s efforts and discussed the concept of disaster risk reduction, the definition of natural phenomena and their effects.
She said at the global level there is no state immune to risks and natural phenomena and economic losses are on the rise despite technological development that has contributed to the reduction of casualties as a result of progress in search and rescue.
She said knowledge of circumstances of each country and their geographical distribution of population, infrastructure and economic development plays a major role in determining potential losses when disaster strikes.
She also explained means and mechanisms to prevent the danger and the importance of preparedness to reduce losses.
Al Janan spoke about HFA, adopted by the UN’s member states as the main tool for risk reduction. Its main goal is to build the capacity of countries and communities to cope with disasters by reducing losses and increasing environmental gains by 2015. The workshop also addressed goals set by the UN to reduce losses, including the promotion of effective integration of disaster risk considerations in sustainable development policies and planning, development and strengthening of institutions, mechanisms and capacities to contribute to risk reduction and implementation of programmes for emergency preparedness and response. The Peninsula
