Fiji continues to disseminate disaster mitigation measures to people at the community level. Fiji NDMO Director says saving lives from the impacts of climate change remains a top priority.
The Fijian Government will continue to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to disseminate disaster mitigation measures to people at the community level.
National Disaster Management Office Director, Vasiti Soko said they endorsed a new Community Based Disaster Restraining manual last December so that people in the rural and maritime areas are informed via an early warning system.
Speaking to FBC at the UNDRR Global Platform in Bali, Indonesia, Soko said saving lives from the impacts of climate change remains a top priority for the Fijian Government, and this international platform is vital for raising our concerns and challenges.
“So what we did, we standardized this training right across Fiji – no matter where you do the training, irrespective of the NGOs or CSOs that conducts the training, the methodology, the execution at the community level remains the same.”
Soko said Fiji is lucky to have the strong leadership and vision needed to have a good system for mitigating the impacts of climate change and natural hazards.
Meanwhile, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Head Mami Mizutori says developed nations are accelerating their efforts to get early warning systems in place for small islands and developing states such as Fiji.
Global disasters are expected to hit around 560 per year by 2030, raising major concerns for small island states.
In its Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments Synthesis and Analysis Report, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, it said the world is experiencing a growing number of disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change.
Fiji is already ranked 14th in the 2021 World Risk Index for being the most disaster prone nation.
UNDRR head, Mami Mizutori said people are paying a high price and on average, disasters cause direct economic impact of US$170 billion a year.
As per the report the poor and vulnerable nations such as Fiji continue to be disproportionately affected.
Mizutori said it is to the credit of countries as they have been managing the worst disaster this generation has experienced, referring to COVID-19.
“It is only through working together that we will stop the spiral of disaster destruction and build a more sustainable, more resilient and more equitable future for all.”
As we head towards the mid-term review of the Sendai Framework, UNDRR says prioritising disaster and climate risk is our shared and urgent responsibility, paying particular attention to prevention.
This story was written by Josaia Nanuqa, originally published at FBC News on 25 May 2022, reposted via PACNEWS.
