Why do we celebrate IDDR?

#IDDR2018 #ResilienceForAll

International Day for Disaster Reduction, held every 13 October, celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters. For 25 years the United Nations General Assembly centers its efforts for this day through the Sendai Seven Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Sendai Seven Campaign, to focus on the impact that disasters have on people's lives and well-being.

The Sendai Framework has seven strategic targets and 38 indicators for measuring progress on reducing disaster losses. These indicators align implementation of the Sendai Framework with implementation of the SDGs and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

This follows a year in which natural hazards have contributed to record economic losses worldwide of an estimated US$ 350 billion in insured and uninsured losses, impacting severely on many sectors of the economy in affected countries as well as impacting on availability of public monies for social expenditure in areas such as education and health which are vital to achievement of sustainable development and the SDGs in particular. The World Bank estimates that disasters cost the global economy US$520 billion and push 26 million people into poverty every year.