Africa: Data and Statistics Critical in Disaster Reporting for Cost Effective Risk Reduction

22 July 2022
African Union (Addis Ababa)
press release

Data collection for the second Africa Biennial report on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) continued with the exercise taking place in N'Djamena, Chad 4-5 July 2022 for the Central African (ECCAS) and the North Africa and Maghreb (UMA) regions.

While opening the panel, Madam Amouna Sougui Ali, Director General in charge of territorial administration commended the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 for laying the proper groundwork on reduction of losses caused by disasters. She hailed the workshop as an opportunity to evaluate disaster risks in the UMA and ECCAS regions and identify the successful pathways so far in the implementation of the Sendai Framework.

The remarks by UMA came from Mr. Rabi Sakhi who highlighted the development of situation reports about ongoing vaccinations and continuous updates concerning COVID-19. He however highlighted the need for consistency in the development of sitreps to ensure efficiency in early warning and early action.

Representatives from the League of Arab States (LAS) Mustafa Saadi Aljuboori highlighted progress from the organisation, including the establishment of the DRR office in 2018 and the LAS ministerial forum on DRR and the importance of statistics in disaster risk reduction reporting.

Highlighting the progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework in the region, ECCAS representative Mr. Semingar Ngaryamngaye commended the Chadian government on its efforts towards capacity building of stakeholders in risk management. He noted the progress in post-disaster needs assessment exercises, and encouraged other Member States to borrow a leaf.

Taking the floor, Mr. Aboubakar Diane of the AUC DRR Unit stressed the importance of the regional workshops on data collection towards tracking progress and identifying gaps and opportunities for all stakeholders in DRR for a more resilient society.

During the workshop, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Member States and representatives from the youth and academia reported their latest progress in disaster risk reduction, and also pinpointed the existing opportunities in the field. Some of these were internship and job opportunities at ECCAS focusing on hydrometeorology, disaster risk reduction and climate sciences.

The workshop was the second of the series, following the EAC-IGAD focused event held in June. The two-day event was jointly supported by UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The series of the workshops is set to continue over the coming months, focusing on the remaining regions of ECOWAS and SADC.

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