12th Session of the Africa Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction (Core)

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) continues to gain momentum and recognition in Africa for its contribution towards achieving the Agenda 2063 -The Africa We Want and Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development across the African Continent. Efforts are being made, under the leadership of the Africa Union Commission (AUC) and with support from the Africa Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction (AWGDRR), to popularize, domesticate and implement the Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in Africa (PoA) at all levels. Regularly tracking progress in the implementation of the PoA has been and remains top of the agenda of the AWGDRR. Consequently, AUC is developing a monitoring and reporting system to track progress the continent is making in implementing the PoA and Sendai Framework. The reporting and monitoring system builds on existing reporting systems on the continent and takes into account the Sendai Framework Monitoring system.     

Reconstituted following the request of the Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (Nairobi, April 2010), the AWG has been playing an important role in providing technical support to the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, Member States and partners for the coordination and implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and its Programme of Action.

The Group meets biannually wherein the Core Group and Extended Group meet alternatively. Eleven such sessions of the AWG have been convened so far.

Objectives

• To review progress of the implementation of agreed action points from the 11th Session of AWGDRR, 26-27 September 2017, Mombasa, Kenya
• To evaluate regional progress in disaster risk reduction in the context of the Sendai Framework and the PoA;
• To brief the AWGDRR on the AU theme for 2018 and its expected role in its implementation;
• To familiarize the AWGDRR with the PoA monitoring framework developed by AUC; and orient them on the Sendai Framework Monitoring System; and
• To review draft programme for the 2018 Africa-Arab  Platform and High-level Meeting on DRR as well as  status of preparation.