International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
Along with our partner in Bangladesh (Centre for Disability in Development - CDD) we are strengthening community resilience through disability inclusive Disaster Risk Management in urban and rural areas of the country. 16 year old Shantona pictured here, has been nearly blind since birth. Now she has learnt Braille and attends an inclusive school in her neighbourhood.
Ⓒ CBM/Patwary
The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) takes place every year on 13 October. This year, the focus is on public health, disease outbreaks as well as disaster risk governance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world is witnessing consequential human suffering and acute disruption of social and economic development caused by disasters. CBM strives to reduce the impacts of disasters on affected communities by mitigating and reducing the risks. We firmly believe that our community-based inclusive development (CBID) work in disaster prone areas must incorporate a disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction (DiDRR) component, post-emergency and long-term recovery work. This work is supported through technical advice at the global, regional and country levels, strengthened by the expertise from implementing CBID partners carrying out DiDRR work. In collaboration with CBM, these CBID partners are documenting and sharing processes, lessons learned and success stories.
This year, we are responding to Covid-19 through our robust disability inclusive humanitarian programming in 29 countries and we are slowly moving towards more longer-term and transitional interventions for recovery. We have strategized to work in communities hit hard by all types of disasters where persons with disabilities are taking charge of resilience-building as a result of CBM led DiDRR interventions across 22 countries in Africa, Asia and Americas.
Why We Need Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction
Dr. Rainer Brockhaus, the CEO of CBM, has written a personal commentary piece on the need for disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction.
Read it here
New Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR) Application
Last year, we launched the inclusive DRR hands-on-tool app (both mobile and web based). This new app ensures accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities in disaster risk reduction programs of government and NGOs worldwide.
Check out the app here