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GFDRR and GeoHazards International Create Alliance to Assist Disaster Prone Emerging Countries

On October 9, the World Bank, acting through the Global Facility for Disaster Reaction and Recovery (GFDRR), signed a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GeoHazards International (GHI), a nonprofit organization founded in 1991, dedicated to reducing death and suffering caused by earthquakes in the world's most vulnerable communities. GHI's focus is on prevention, working to limit predictable losses due to natural disasters, through three main lines of action: raising awareness, building local institutions, and strengthening schools. The MoU establishes a framework of collaboration for specific programs of disaster prone emerging countries to be developed between the World Bank and GHI. It was signed by Ms. Zoubida Allaoua, Director of the Finance, Economics, and Urban Department at the World Bank, and Mr. Brian Tucker, President of GeoHazards International. The main collaboration areas agreed upon are: 1) Disaster risk reduction (DRR)- addressing the challenges posed by natural hazards, including climate change, and incorporating mitigation measures into recovery in the aftermath of a disaster, 2) Disaster risk management capacities - strengthening national and sub/regional bodies, parliaments, civil society, and the private sector in emerging countries, 3) Exchange of expertise and experience of DRR professionals from both organizations, 4) Knowledge-sharing and innovations-engaging the networks of both institutions, and acceleration of the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (http://www.unisdr.org/eng/hfa/hfa.htm).

The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) is a global blueprint for disaster risk reduction efforts during the next decade. Its goal is to substantially reduce disaster losses by 2015 - in lives, and in the social, economic, and environmental assets of communities and countries. The Framework offers guiding principles, priorities for action, and practical means for achieving disaster resilience for vulnerable communities. Priorities for action include:

Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation.
Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning.
Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels.
Reduce the underlying risk factors.
Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.