UNDP: Serbia launches the National Disaster Management Program
The National Disaster Management Program was passed by a Conclusion of the Government of Serbia. The Program was launched today by the Government Office for Reconstruction and Flood Relief.
Adressing an audience of sectoral experts, diplomatic core and members of the media, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that, when it comes to natural disasters, the government is firmly committed to preventive measures.
Serbia wants to think and plan ahead, the Prime Minister underlined and explained that Serbia was losing annually €130 million due to floods, even more due to drought, with last year’s catastrophic floods costing €1.7 billion.
Vucic pointed out that planned investment in education and the purchase of equipment and preventive infrastructure, as well as into a modern system of institutions, should always meet citizens’ needs.
The Prime Minister underlined that without the help of the countries that participated in the meeting and helped Serbia after the catastrophic floods, recovery would not have been as quick as it was.
Irena Vojackova-Sollorano, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia used the occasion to highlight that the UN Country Team in Serbia is pleased to participate in this important initiative together with international partners.
She reiterated the UN Country Team's committment to working in close partnership with the Government of Serbia on moving on from emergency responses last year to the launch of the National Disaster Management Programme.
The Programme comes in the wake of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will take place in Sendai, Japan, later this month.
Serbia is sending a strong delegation to Sendai, and given its experience of last year and the Programme launched today, it is hoped that Serbia will be an active participant in discussions and negotiations taking place in Sendai.
Serbia’s participation in Sendai will inform the next Hyogo Framework. The so-called Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) is the first plan to detail the work required from all different sectors and actors to minimize disaster risks.
The UN Country Team together with the so-called “CADRI” Mission (Capacity Assessment of Disaster Risk Instrument) provides support to Government’s participation in this important meeting. It does so by introducing the elements of the Hyogo Framework of Action II into Government’s planning for disaster risk reduction and management.
The Hyogo Framework for Action has taken us from purely responding to emergencies to a “disaster risk reduction” way of thinking, said Vojackova-Sollorano.
She underlined key messages for the day: disaster risk reduction is a developmet issue, driven by climate change above all other causes, and requiring adequate and well targetted financing committments to ensure development gains are protected from future disasters.