Friday, 27 March 2015, 13:30, Kursaal Bern
Natural hazards pose as much a threat to industrialised states as they do to the world's poorest nations. The issue of disaster risk reduction is therefore being placed centre-stage at this year's annual conference of Swiss Humanitarian Aid and the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA).
Half of the global population is exposed to the risk of natural disasters. During the last decades, thousands of people have lost their lives in earthquakes, floods, droughts, landslides, cyclones and volcanic eruptions. These phenomena affect both industrialised and least developed countries, although their impacts differ according to the level of development.
For this reason disaster risk reduction is a priority for the Humanitarian Aid of the Swiss Confederation. Its commitment in risk-prone countries focuses on prevention, improvement of response mechanisms during disasters and adoption of measures to prevent similar cases in the future. To reach its goals, the Humanitarian Aid works closely together with other divisions of SDC and relies on the expertise of the members of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA).
In March 2015, the international community will endorse a new roadmap for disaster risk reduction. This is the opportunity for every country, including Switzerland, to take stock of the endeavours accomplished up to now and to think about future challenges. The annual conference of the Humanitarian Aid and SHA will present the accomplishments and assets of Switzerland in this regard as well as the challenges ahead.
