EU: Mapping disaster risk - INFORM releases 2016 results

Source(s): European Commission
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Understanding why and where humanitarian crises and disasters are likely to occur is a fundamental step in saving lives. The European Commission supports and utilises INFORM, a global open-source risk assessment tool. The results of the 2016 INFORM were released on 2 December.

Most crises can be predicted to some extent, and while they cannot always be prevented, the suffering they cause can often be greatly reduced. INFORM was developed last year through a partnership of a number of international organisations, including the European Commission, to support decisions about prevention, preparedness and response to crises and disasters.

The results of the INFORM assessments can be used to prioritise countries by risk, decide how to prepare and reduce risk, and monitor risk trends. As humanitarian needs are growing worldwide, risk-informed programming is important.

The European Commission has incorporated INFORM in its global humanitarian needs and risks analyses. Results are also used to strengthen the evidence for disaster risk reduction programming and to improve the knowledge base for civil protection activities. All results are available in the 2016 Report.

Along with the 2016 results, INFORM has also released a strategy for regional and national level assessments, developed based on four pilot projects in the Sahel region, Greater Horn of Africa region, Lebanon and Colombia. From 2016 onwards, INFORM Subnational will work with local partners to develop detailed risk models that are tailored to specific regions and countries based on local knowledge and ownership but also drawing on global expertise based on INFORM global standards. Regional and national partners can apply to participate as INFORM hopes to help develop another five regional models in 2017. See INFORM Subnational.

Background

INFORM is the first global, open source and transparent tool for understanding the risk of humanitarian crises and disasters. It can help identify where and why a crisis might occur, which means that it allows target programming to reduce risk, build peoples’ resilience and prepare better for when crises do happen.

The tool simplifies information about risk into a risk profile for 191 countries by covering natural and human hazards, vulnerability and coping capacity. Analyses are based on the best methods available and regularly updated.

INFORM is the result of the collaboration between international organisations and governments.

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Watch video: Introducing INFORM English

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