Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction
Marking its third year as a regular fixture in one of the world’s top economic forums, the first meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group, under the South African Presidency took place on 5 March.
In recognition of the role of disaster risk reduction in reducing growing disaster losses, the President of South Africa, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, declared at both the launch of South Africa’s Presidency in December 2024, as well as at the first G20 Finance Minister’s meeting in February 2025, that “our first priority is to take action to strengthen disaster resilience and response”.
This sense of urgency was echoed by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Mr. Velenkosini Hlabisa, who officially opened the inaugural meeting of the Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group by stating that “disasters know no borders” and that efforts to prevent and mitigate them require “Solidarity and Global Cooperation”.
This is a core theme for the Working Group this year in line with the Presidency’s key pillars of “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability.” Minister Hlabisa also highlighted how this is a historic G20 as it is the first to be held on the African continent: “South Africa will bring the G20 to Africa and Africa to the G20”.
Opening remarks were also provided by Mr Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), who thanked South Africa for entrusting UNDRR with the role of Secretariat for the Working Group.
Mr. Kishore also underscored how disasters are “becoming a larger threat to economic prosperity” while at the same time, “economic development that is not guided by an understanding of disaster risks can inadvertently lead to more disasters.”
During the meeting, the South African Presidency presented their priorities and work plan for the year, as explained in their Issue Note. This was followed by the opening of the discussion for inputs and reflections from Member States and invited states and organisations, who were represented by 236 participants, reflecting a high turn for the inaugural meeting.
The meeting set a strong foundation for the work to come over the year, which will culminate with a ministerial-level meeting in October in South Africa. Until then, the next Working Group meeting is planned to take place in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality on 8-11 April.