Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction
The human cost of disasters includes lost livelihoods, homes, and cultural ties to landscapes. Where livelihoods are already fragile and being eroded, a disaster-induced displacement of even a few days can damage economic opportunities for years to come. So, the human dimension of recovery remains central to discussions as delegates convened for a second day in several preparatory events for the 8th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR), namely: the World Resilient Recovery Conference, the Third Stakeholder Forum on DRR, and the Global Early Warning for All Multistakeholder Forum (EW4All).
The GPDRR official programme was launched with a high-level roundtable event at lunchtime and a formal opening ceremony in the afternoon, followed by an official reception.
Official programme
Opening
Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of UNDRR, opened the event highlighting the exceptional urgency and importance of delivering on the Sendai Framework. He underscored how communities were coming together and the need to learn from their initiatives, imagination, and resourcefulness, and called for commitment from all actors.
Recalling the recent loss of a Swiss village to a glacier landslide, Amina J. Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, commented that “early warning saves lives but cannot save glaciers from disappearing.” She stressed that disasters and their cascading effects annually cost up to USD 3.2 trillion and noted that record-breaking disasters make entire regions uninsurable. She called for risk-informed development across all sectors; scaled-up public and private investments in resilience; and national financial frameworks that align with adaptation needs.
Ignazio Cassis, Minister, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland, observed that, “Risk today is everywhere. Fires are where wetlands were centuries ago.” Noting that the GPDRR2025 is the last Global Platform before the 2030 deadline, he urged that countries deliver on the Sendai Framework, apply science and artificial intelligence, and adopt risk mitigation metrics to mobilize and foster resources.
After a musical performance on the Hang Drum and a choreographed presentation by Sendai4Youth, Patricia Danzi, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, opened the Eighth Session of the GPDRR.
Enhancing national DRR governance by 2030—A dialogue among national platforms for DRR
In opening remarks to this high-level event, Kishore observed that the risk landscape platform is becoming increasingly complex. He recommended strengthening national DRR platforms and embedding risk reduction into national policies and frameworks; ensuring sustainable and predictable finance with policies matching sustainable long-term plans; and having a common risk assessment framework to support national entities with proper data and analytics.
Speaking on behalf of the host country, Franziska Schmid, Swiss National Platform for Natural Hazards (PLANAT), described the work of PLANAT and highlighted challenges, including overlapping reporting mechanisms and strategies among national government entities focused on resilience. She stressed the importance of addressing duplication, developing appropriate tools, such as hazard maps and building permits, and ensuring crisis management provisions are actually functional.
Discussions then followed in a roundtable format, moderated by Paola Albrito, UNDRR. Albrito invited delegates to: describe the demonstrated impact of their National Platforms for DRR, share lessons learned, identify remaining gaps in DRR governance, and highlight ways and opportunities to boost Sendai Framework implementation by 2030.
In their interventions, many called for collaboration among regional and country partners. Speakers included the Deputy Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tajikistan, as well as many ministers and high-level government representatives. They highlighted lessons and challenges, including: enhancing preparedness through strengthening and modernizing approaches; improving planning and promoting concrete analyses from real-life situations at the grassroots; and mobilizing adequate financing and developing technical expertise to adequately prepare communities.
All interventions are recorded here.
Third Stakeholder Forum on DRR
The Stakeholder Forum continued its deliberations throughout the day, concluding in the afternoon with reflections by supporters and participants of the Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism.
Spotlight session—Early warning for all
Moderator Rebecca Murphy, Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR), invited the UNDRR Stakeholder Forum and the Multi-Stakeholder EW4All communities to combine efforts in crafting action points for the 2025 Global Platform on DRR.
In the keynote, Gavin White, Risk-informed Early Action Partnership (REAP), summarized common themes in Early Warning, noting that: preparing for disasters is about inclusiveness, honest communication and trusting the person who is providing the guidance; and early warning systems (EWS) can act as a bridge overcoming the silo approaches among different DRR stakeholders. Panelists suggested that: while no system can predict with 100% certainty what shape hazards will take, it is crucial to build trust and understand local contexts; response planners should establish appropriate actions to follow early warnings; emergency systems must be tailored to communities’ experiences so that people can distinguish between different disasters and respond uniquely to each threat; both elderly and youth can inform EWS and response planning; and conflict zones require unique solutions that consider the fragility and power dynamics within communities.
Bridging the gap: Critical media’s role in strengthening alerts and enhancing disaster preparedness
Giacomo Mazzone, Media Saving Lives, moderated the session. Matthieu Rawolle, EBU Media Intelligence Service, shared examples of how terrestrial radio networks remained uninterrupted and accessible during disasters, and are used to inform the public and facilitate emergency response, especially when mobile phone and internet services are interrupted. He concluded that radio is an essential communication medium in times of crisis and requires investment.
Raditya Jati, Deputy Minister of System and Strategy, National Disaster Management Authority, Indonesia, emphasized the need for media to go beyond reporting on casualties and housing collapse, and to incorporate education for people to prepare for disasters.
Noting that UNDRR is the first UN agency that recognized media’s role in crises, Natalia Ilieva, Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, described the Media Saving Lives collaboration between the World Broadcasting Unions and UNDRR that focuses on shifting media perspectives from reactive to proactive reporting, showing the real causes for disasters and instructing people on how to avoid harm. Grégoire Ndjaka, African Broadcasting Union, highlighted the reach of radio in Africa extending to places without electricity supply. Orengiye Fyneface, African Broadcasting Union, discussed trust challenges with journalism as a disaster information source in Africa, pointing to bureaucratic hurdles that prevent journalists from reaching scientists.
Shaping a sustainable tomorrow: Aligning the Sendai Midterm Review with the Pact for the Future
Abraham Bugre, University of Regina, moderated this session. In her opening remarks, Toni-Shae Freckleton, UNDRR, called for transitioning from short-term responses to long-term prevention. She stated that the Pact for the Future embeds DRR and resilience building.
Juan Carlos Uribe Vega, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) highlighted gaps in understanding localization and the importance of local-level governance. Jekulin Lipi Saikia, GNDR, called for a focus on listening to and working with communities, improving financial access, and increasing citizen science. Amber Fletcher, University of Regina, emphasized the role of community-driven actions, citizen science, and community engagement in reaching the diverse range of local voices. In the ensuing discussion, attendees identified communication disconnection, lack of funding, and localization among the persistent gaps between global networks and local realities.
Closing session
Tanjir Hossain, UNDRR Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism (SEM), moderated the closing session. Jamie Cummings, SEM, recalled her own experience of disaster when Hurricane Helene struck her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Describing how volunteers had operated a traditional Appalachian mule brigade to transport life-saving medications to mountain communities after roads were destroyed, she reflected that, “communities who know the land most, hold the solutions.” Martin Schuldes, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), stressed that “the substance and spirit” of the conference must translate into concrete action.
Jilhane El Gaouzi, African Union Commission, urged all concerned to “be realistic and speed up implementation,” given that only five years remain until the Sendai Framework deadline.
World Resilient Recovery Conference
At the opening of this one-day event, Mutale Nalumongo, Vice-President, Zambia, highlighted Zambia’s promotion of climate-resilient agriculture through promotion of drought-tolerant crop varieties, access to weather-based insurance and investment in EWS, including advisories to farmers. Following further opening remarks by speakers, two plenaries and several thematic sessions took place during the day.
Plenary 1—Taking stock of current recovery practices
Carolina Fuentes Castellanos, Director, Santiago Network Secretariat, moderated the session.
Sujit Mohanty, UNDRR, noted the high costs of reconstruction and the difficulties of countries that are perpetually in a state of recovery from one disaster after another, pointing to the need to address institutional fragmentation.
Renato Umali Solidum, Jr., Department of Science and Technology, Philippines, advocated for greater cohesion between DRR and climate action as being “two sides of the same coin.” He called for transparent grant-based governance to reach at-risk commuities and address both slow-onset and sudden disasters.
Leon Lundy, Minister of State Office, The Bahamas, highlighted the launch of The Bahamas’ National Disaster Risk Management Authority. He drew attention to the 2022 Act mandating public body disaster plans, including continuity plans, restoration timelines, and staff redeployment protocols to ensure essential services can be maintained or rapidly restored after a disaster.
Krishna Swaroop Vatsa, National Disaster Management Authority, India, highlighted allocation of 30% of the Authority’s funds for recovery and reconstruction, which are released through an assessment-based process.
Fuentes Castellanos offered countries the Secretariat’s support for structuring technical assistance requests.
Plenary 2—From commitment to action: Leadership for resilient recovery
Shivangi Chavda, GNDR, moderated the session.
Guangzhe Chen, World Bank, described the World Bank’s recent transition to supporting infrastructure resilience efforts. He invited countries to access the Bank’s preparedness and response toolkit to strengthen their disaster reduction policies, citing recent examples from Malawi, Albania, and Madagascar.
On financial instruments, panelists explored ways to distribute more rapid financial support, including through multi-dimensional approaches.
On displacement following disasters, Rania Sharshr, International Organization for Migration (IOM), emphasized that one of the greatest needs of governments is access to reliable and accurate data on how displaced people have been impacted, and guidance on how to integrate these people into existing communities.
The session concluded with the presentation of the Resilient Recovery Framework by Abhilash Panda, UNDRR.
Thematic sessions
Further sessions took place through the day. Besides the three sessions reported here, delegates took part in other Stakeholder Forum sessions on governance mechanisms, unlocking financial potential, housing reconstruction, and multi-hazard EWS.
Restoring livelihood: Solutions for disaster-induced displacement and resilient recovery
Mona Folkesson, UN Development Coordination Office (DCO), moderated the session.
Emad Adly, Arab Network for Environment and Development, highlighted water scarcity as a key issue for the region and local-level coordination as a key challenge. Alexandra Bilak, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), cited experience from the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal to show how livelihood erosion influences the severity of displacement.
Ibrahim Osman Farah, Vice President, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia, described livelihood restoration during return and resettlement of internally displaced persons, through ensuring cultural access to land, water, schools, and income-generating opportunities as long-term resilience-based approaches.
Tasneem Siddiqui, University of Dhaka, recounted how students were a driving force for the university’s Refugee and Migration Research Unit, which now has formed Adaptation Committees in many local areas and supports implementation of national policies on livelihood diversification and skills training. She urged treating displacement not as a humanitarian issue, but as a human rights one.
Aslam Perwaiz, Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, emphasized skill development with local communities and SMEs to create livelihood options for displaced communities.
Driving resilience: The critical role of private sector’s operational readiness for resilient recovery
Moderator, Cedrick Moriggi, Corporate Chief Resilience Officer Network, emphasized connecting the corporate world with the UNDRR world. Ommid Saberi, International Finance Corporation, recommended investing in the “economics of families,” or small businesses, saying even small government incentives can mobilize large funds from the private sector. Dorothee Baumann-Pauly, University of Geneva, said human rights are the enablers for resilience. Jonathan Rake, Swiss Re Solutions, highlighted the need for the private sector to engage locally and to develop and combine social programmes with parametric solutions. Chris Ulatt, Octopus, said upfront investment to boost resilience is the right move, but observed that few investors will remain for the duration of an investment. Kerry Hinds, Department of Emergency Management, Barbados, described an audit tool to ascertain risks and priorities for public-private partnerships, noting the tool helps standardize and trigger business continuity protocols for disaster risk management.
Turning experience into action: learning from large-scale disasters
Dilanthi Amaratunga, Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System, moderated the session.
Banak Joshua Dei Wal, South Sudan’s DRR Focal Point, highlighted the need to work together and identify risks for Sendai Framework implementation to be effective.
Saini Yang, Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), emphasized that China’s National Flood Prevention System has proven effective, with more than an 80% decrease in flood mortality rates over the last 20 years.
Trevor Bhupsingh, Public Safety Canada, highlighted Canada’s Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements.
Guy Gryspeert, Honeywell, defined resilience as the capability of preventing a crisis by having awareness and planning in place.
Ali Hamza Pehlivan, Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), Türkiye, highlighted the usefulness of their National Disaster Response Plan during the 2023 earthquake. Makiko Ohashi, Cabinet Office of Japan, noted the utility of planning on the assumption that a mega-disaster may occur at any time and of reviewing DDR plans in the aftermath of disasters.
Global Early Warning for All (EW4All) Multistakeholder Forum
After thematic sessions during the day, EW4All concluded its discussions. Gavin White, Risk-Informed Early Action Partnership, moderated the closing session. Panelists highlighted the importance of focusing on preparedness and developing trust, the need to shift perspectives toward a systemic approach to EWS, and the need to increase private funding.
In closing remarks, Andrea Hermenejildo, Deputy Secretary General for Risk Management, Ecuador, stressed EWS is not only a technical issue, but also involves social justice. Paola Albrito, Director, UNDRR, emphasized that EW4All is both needed and achievable. Noting the central role of local communities, she underlined that resilience is built with communities.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union, underlined that scaling-up EWS requires partnerships and breaking silos across economic sectors, UN agencies and industries.
Jagan Chapagain, Secretary-General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), stressed that inclusive action and investment in EW4All is essential.
Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), stated that having EWS in just 108 countries is neither sufficient nor acceptable, and called for closing this “justice gap” by providing EWS worldwide and accelerating the transformation needed to protect every person on Earth.