Around the world, we are seeing the increasing impacts of shocks on local communities, from natural hazards to foodprice rises and conflict. We are also seeing the profound benefits of supporting these communities to reduce and manage risks themselves, for example through community early warning and preparedness. Affected people don’t see the institutional divides between humanitarian and development aid. They only know whether the support they get is relevant and useful and helps them to be independent. This report can help us make sure it is. Eva von Oelreich, President, Swedish Red Cross
Disasters are not aberrant phenomena, but rather reflections of the ways people live their normal lives, and the ways societies prioritize and allocate resources. This study has more than sustained this point with practical insights and strategic perspectives. Randolph Kent, Humanitarian Futures Programme, King’s College London
As humanitarians it is vital to engage in political processes that shape the focus of governments, as well as the development agenda and the engagement of the private sector, if we are to move forward on the agenda of prevention and not only address symptoms or focus on humanitarian response.
Prevention is one of the most important strategies in saving lives. For that reason, Governments should invest to pursue this objective. This is why the motto for disaster management in Mozambique is, “It’s better to prevent it than to fix it.” Dulce Fernanda M. Cabral Chilundo, General Director, National Institute for Information Technology and Communication, Ministry of Science and Technology, Mozambique
Implementing a risk-management approach to humanitarian crises requires significant changes: better collaboration between humanitarian and development communities; better sharing of risk analysis; integrated planning and programming; joined-up resource mobilization over five- to 10-year time frames. Risk management requires sustained focus and investment and is a marathon, not a sprint. Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, Chief, Policy Development and Studies Branch, OCHA
This report brings together compelling evidence that humanitarian crises are not unexpected events, but the result of processes that develop throughout time and can have their impacts dramatically decreased, if not fully prevented. To put risk at the core of the aid is to embrace the knowledge and experience gained over several decades of practice. Marianna Olinger, PhD in Urban and Regional Planning, Brazil
Toby Lanzer, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan
3
3