Brussels, 20/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and the World Bank will jointly contribute €54.5 million to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) in African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, which are linked to the EU through the Cotonou Agreement.
A financial agreement was signed by the two parties on Friday 20 May, in the presence of a representative of the ACP group of states, during the third session of the UN Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and the first World Reconstruction Conference. This financial contribution will support efforts to improve the ability of countries and authorities across the world to recover from natural disasters, as outlined in the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015).
The EU funding will go towards prevention, mitigation and preparedness in ACP countries, focusing on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction, risk identification and assessment, early warning systems and integration of disaster prevention into post-disaster recovery. “Too often, climate change affects the world's poorest people - those who are the least equipped to deal with it. That is why this project will be crucial in countries across the African, Caribbean and the Pacific in helping people to protect themselves and their livelihoods against natural disasters”, said Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
A development priority. Inger Andersen, World Bank Vice-President for Sustainable Development, added: “We look forward to expanding our already strong cooperation to strengthen the foundation for sustainable development and poverty eradication and make disaster risk reduction a development priority”. Noting that several ACP countries are among the most disaster prone in the world, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Secretary General of the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States, said: “This partnership will be instrumental in reaching the goals set by the disaster risk reduction component of our cooperation with the European Union. We rely on the global expertise provided by the GFDRR as it will work in close partnership with our regional organisations, specialised entities and governments ensuring the sustainability of the results”.
The Hyogo Framework for Action, which has been adopted by 168 countries and multilateral organisations following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, has as its main objective to substantially reduce disaster losses by 2015 by building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. (A.N./transl.rt)