The COVID-19 pandemic is a timely reminder of how hazards within the complex and changing global risk landscape can affect lives, livelihoods and health.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (‘the Sendai Framework’) was one of three landmark agreements adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The other two being the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The UNDRR/ISC Sendai Hazard Definition and Classification Review Technical Report supports all three by providing a common set of hazard definitions for monitoring and reviewing implementation which calls for “a data revolution, rigorous accountability mechanisms and renewed global partnerships” The UNDRR/ISC Hazard Information Profile Supplement will be available soon.
An outcome of this work is collaboration to develop disaster related statistics. The First meeting of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group (IAEG) on Disaster-related Statistics was held in May 2021. The IAEG-DRS is the outcome of the UNECOSOC Report of the Core Group of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Disaster-related statistics submitted in December 2020 and adopted in March 2021. The IAEG comprises approximately 180 members, representing about 90 countries and 15 international organizations. The IAEG is Co-Chaired by UNDRR and UNESCAP. The First Expert Forum for Producers and Users of Disaster-related Statistics, in June 2021. As an introduction to this forum – it related to the importance of setting up mechanisms to ensure collaboration and coordination of work on disaster-related statistics across disciplines and organizations has been recognized on national and international level, including the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) and the Conference of European Statisticians (CES).
This session will invite colleagues to engage in this work via the pilots that are being developed.
Speakers
Virginia Murray
Designation: Public Health England
Affiliation: CODATA Executive Committee
Virginia Murray is public health doctor committed to improving data access and transparency for effective reporting. She was appointed as Head of Global Disaster Risk Reduction (GDRR) for Public Health England in April 2014 and in 2020 has been working additionally as a Senior Public Health Advisor for COVID-19. She is currently a member of CODATA Executive Committee and a member of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) scientific committee, co-sponsored by the International Science Council (ISC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and Co-Chair of IRDR’s Disaster Loss Data (DATA). She is currently the Chair of the UNDRR/ISC Hazard Classification and Review Technical Working Group, and the report was published in July 2020. She is a visiting/honorary Professor and fellow at several universities.
Kanza Ahmed
Designation: Consultant in Global Public Health
Affiliation: Public Health England
Photo by Toomas Tartes on Unsplash
