SFA Locsin at the UN: Anticipatory Action is Key to Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L Locsin, Jr. during the United Nations High-Level Humanitarian Event on Anticipatory Action: A Commitment to Act Before Crises.
NEW YORK 16 September 2021 — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. renewed the commitment of the Philippines to anticipatory action at a high-level humanitarian event entitled, “Anticipatory Action: A Commitment to Act Before Crises” on 09 September 2021. Anticipatory action is a set of actions taken to prevent or mitigate potential disaster impacts before a shock or before acute impacts are felt. It is carried out in anticipation of a shock, based on a prediction of how the event will unfold.
“We’ve gained the wisdom that predicting, preventing and mitigating the shock and impact of a disaster are key to risk reduction and management,” Secretary Locsin said.
The Secretary stated that the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP) worked because of the collective effort of Filipinos, government and public.
Secretary Locsin highlighted some of PDP and NDRRMP features such as data sharing, creation of command systems and emergency operation centers at national and local levels. He also shared the information that the Philippines developed the app HunterHazard to provide land developers risk information and assessment of a particular area and the establishment of the Philippine Space Agency to strengthen hazard monitoring and forecasting through earth observation through satellite sensing. He also noted that since 2015, the Philippines has worked with the Philippine Red Cross, the UN World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and other stakeholders to build capacity.
The Secretary also added that the Philippines is an active supporter of the UN Central Emergency Fund (CERF) and looks forward to working as a pilot country with CERF in its project on anticipatory action to typhoons.
The Anticipatory Event 2021 was convened by the United Nations and the Governments of Germany and the United Kingdom to advance anticipatory action and galvanize a collective push to act ahead of crises. This event also builds on recent G7 commitments on anticipatory action and ahead of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, recognizing the growing impact of climate change on the severity and frequency of crises. END
For more information, visit https://www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.un.int/philippines, or https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/.