US$450,000 grant to a city-to-city sharing initiative for disaster risk reduction
The World Bank, with funds from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR,) is supporting the cities of Makati, Philippines, Kathmandu, Nepal, and Quito, Ecuador with a US$450,000 grant towards establishing a City-to-City Sharing Initiative for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). This South to South Cooperation Initiative was specifically supported by the governments of Italy and Norway.
“The City Government of Makati has always been vigilant of the adverse effects of disasters on its constituents. This is why we have been very proactive in seeking means to reduce disaster risks,” said Jejomar C Binay, Mayor of Makati. “We believe this sharing initiative among the cities of Makati, Kathmandu and Quito will significantly strengthen our respective capabilities for disaster risk reduction, as it will give rise to more innovative, responsive and effective programs.”
This City-to-City Sharing Initiative for Disaster Risk Reduction will create a partnership among the cities of Makati, Kathmandu and Quito to foster knowledge exchange, technical cooperation, and sharing of expertise in risk sensitive land use planning and local level emergency management. It will further additional technical and institutional capacity-building among city officials, managers, and professionals in critical areas such as earthquake hazard and vulnerability awareness, safe building technologies and community preparedness.
The grant is part of the GFDRR South-South Cooperation Program, a major initiative to facilitate collaboration among low- and middle-income countries to mainstream disaster risk reduction and recovery, including climate change adaptation, into development planning. The Program fosters greater leadership and ownership of the governments from developing countries on their disaster risk reduction agenda, providing opportunities for high risk countries to work jointly on common objectives and reduce their vulnerability.
“We are pleased to finance this initiative supporting the exchange of knowledge, innovation, technical cooperation, resource sharing and capacity building in the field of disaster risk management in these three major cities,” said Bert Hofman, Country Director for the Philippines, East Asia, and Pacific Region at the World Bank.
Kathmandu, Makati and Quito will implement the proposed activities with assistance from their national Urban Development and Disaster Risk Management departments, as well as technical assistance from the World Bank and GFDRR.
Media Contact: In Washington, D.C. Maria Alexandra Velez Phone: + 1 202 458 8789 E-mail: [email protected]