This post is from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’ Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030).

The United Nations General Assembly in New York has adopted the Political declaration of the high-level meeting on the midterm review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.

The political declaration conveyed ‘deep concern that the pace of implementation is not sufficient or equal’. In response to this worrying assessment, the political declaration made several recommendations including, calling upon Member States to:

‘Strengthen comprehensive disaster risk governance, taking into account their national circumstances, needs and priorities, including by supporting and enabling all local authorities to have disaster risk reduction strategies and local platforms for disaster risk reduction, or similar mechanisms, in place, including by strengthening the role of local authorities for multi-hazard risk governance with the provision of financial assistance, technical support and capacity development; promoting local ownership through community-based disaster risk management approaches; and participating in the Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative to promote exchanges between cities’

The political declaration also committed to invest ‘in enhancing the capacity and capability of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, for disaster risk reduction by strengthening capacity-building investment and programmes at the national, regional and global levels, such as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Global Education and Training Institute’.