UN lauds Philippines hosting of international disaster event

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has set a new benchmark in hosting international disaster events after the country hosted the 2024 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, according to the United Nations.

UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction Special Representative and UNDRR head Kamal Kishore lauded the spirit of the Filipino people. 

“You’ve set a new benchmark for the Asian Ministerial Conferences on Disaster Risk Reduction,” Kishore said during the closing ceremony of the APMCDRR yesterday.

The UN representative praised Filipino generosity and thoughtfulness as it “won the hearts” of everyone in the conference. He also praised the Filipinos for bringing “contagious joy” in every task in the conference.

During his speech, Kishore said among the highlights of the international event is that financing for disaster risk reduction and prevention needs to considerably expand.

“Whereas contingency financing remains important and pooled funds and insurance products need to increase to finance disaster recovery, it is imperative that we shift the balance towards prioritizing financing prevention and risk reduction before disasters occur,” Kishore said.

He stated countries should start instituting predictable and annual allocations from national budgets where possible.

“For donor countries, this means dedicating a larger percentage of your development assistance to disaster risk reduction and offering more accessible climate financing for adaptation,” he added.

He also said private capital should be further leveraged “to ensure that all business investments strengthen rather than weaken climate and disaster resilience.”

Kishore said the success of the region in strengthening tsunami early warning systems since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami gives him confidence that the Asia-Pacific region can replicate this for other hazards to all communities.

“However, closing the last mile of coverage everywhere requires political will, coordinated action, sustained support from development partners and a truly inclusive approach,” Kishore said. — Michael Punongbayan, Cecille Suerte Felipe