GENEVA (ILO News) – Today the ILO and the World Bank signed a joint statement to reinforce their collaboration to address the consequences of natural hazards and rebuild livelihoods in the aftermath of disasters. The statement was signed in Geneva along the margins of the Second Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (1).
The two organizations already have close cooperation on post-disaster recovery and reconstruction programmes. The joint statement, signed by Ms. Zoubida Allaoua, Director of Finance, Economics, and Urban Development at the World Bank, and Mr. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Director of the Employment Sector at the ILO, strives to take this cooperation further. As a result of today’s signing, both organizations intend to further promote innovative joint initiatives at the field level to help disaster prone countries to reduce the risk of loss of livelihood due to disasters, accelerate the transition to post-disaster recovery, and prepare livelihood adaptation measures in view of climate change challenges.
The ILO and the World Bank will work together to support national capacities for disaster risk management by training government officials and social partners representing workers and employers, as well as other country stakeholders that include non-governmental organization and representatives of private sector organizations.
The objective of this Joint Statement is to provide a framework within which joint activities are to be undertaken between the two institutions. The collaboration will specifically focus on income generation activities (livelihoods) and decent employment for the most vulnerable groups affected or at-risk of disaster. It will include:
a) joint programme proposals,
b) concerted joint policy dialogue with the donor community including fund-raising strategies,
c) enhanced communication and information sharing, developing guidelines and learning tools based on lessons learned and joint pilot initiatives,
d) Improved synchronization within and between both headquarters and field levels which should become a key factor to further strengthen the World Bank-ILO partnership.
A work program is being developed to put the above framework in practice.
(1)The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is the main conference on disaster risk reduction, held bi-annually in Geneva and bringing together a wide cross-section of the world’s disaster risk reduction community, including heads of state, senior ministers, UN agencies, NGOs, scientific and technical experts.
Note for Correspondents
Between 1980 and 2007, nearly 8,400 disasters caused by natural hazards have taken the lives of over two million people and produced economic losses over 1.5 billion US dollars. Of this total, around 90 per cent of the events, and over 70 per cent of casualties and 75 per cent of economic losses were caused by weather-, climate- or water-related extremes such as droughts, floods, windstorms, tropical cyclones and storm surges, extreme temperatures, or by wild fires, health epidemics and insect infestations, which are directly linked to meteorological and hydrological conditions.
During the past few years, the ILO has progressively contributed towards mainstreaming the employment and decent work dimensions into disaster response, disaster risk reduction, and adaptation to climate change and recovery. The ILO develops its mandate by enhancing the capacity of key institutions, such as economic and labour ministries, local authorities, workers’ and employers’ organizations, focusing on livelihood risk reduction, climate change adaptation and employment protection and creation.
The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (www.gfdrr.org) was launched in September 2006 by the World Bank, the United Nations and major donors to support the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) as the global blueprint for disaster risk reductions efforts. It provides strategic and rapid response to help disasters affected countries cope with the impact of disaster and promote the integration of disaster risk reduction strategies into their sustainable development programs.
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