New Delhi: The COVID 19, which was initially a health disaster, quickly became a socioeconomic one with long-term impact, has pushed the world into turmoil, and made the disaster risk governance more paramount. There is an urgent need for a whole-of-society approach towards prevention and risk-informed recovery and development. Good governance and responsive government institutions are the cornerstone of effective disaster management and risk reduction. In view of this, the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and Sphere India are organising a Workshop to commemorate International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR Day) 2021 and a Media Roundtable focusing on the role of media in disaster risk reduction on October 13, 2021.
On this occasion, Sphere India, a National Coalition of 93 humanitarian organisations and its member organisations will also be releasing a series of Handbooks on Multi-Sector Coordination for Emergency Response.
The handbooks are based on six key thematic sectors of emergency response- Health, Shelter, Education, Food and Nutrition, Water and Sanitation and Protection act as an operational manual for stakeholder coordination during emergencies.
“These handbooks define the roles played by different stakeholders and sector actors and are guidelines to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian action. They aim to enable coordination among different stakeholders for better outcomes during emergency response- thus, building disaster risk resilience, said Mr. Vikrant Mahajan, CEO, Sphere India.
“In the Media Roundtable, Sphere India has planned to discuss the critical role of the media in building the resilience of the community through sharing of life saving information during all the three stages of the disaster cycle- Preparedness, Relief and Recovery, and Rehabilitation”, Mr. Mahajan said.
The Keynote address will be delivered by Major General Manoj Kumar Bindal, Executive Director, NIDM. The panelists for the workshop include- Prof Anil K Gupta, NIDM; Shri Kamal Kishore, NDMA; Daniel Gilman, UNOCHA; SN Pradhan, NDRF; Mr Tom White, UNICEF; Lee Macqueen, NCDHR; Dr Rajat Jain, Doctors for You; Dr Ritu Singh Chauhan, WHO; Dr Nidhi Pundhir, HCL Foundation; Justin Jebakumar, Habitat for Humanity, India. The Panelists for the Media Roundtable will be as follows- Vijay Soni, Editor, Open Magazine; Anil Tiyagi, Editor, Gfiles; Mr Himanshu S Mishra, Senior Editor, NDTV; Mr Deepak Parvatiyar, Media Advisor, Indian Federation of UN Associations and Chief Editor of Global Bihari; Roshan Gaur, Bureau Chief, Rashtriya Sahara. Sanjay Singh, Secretary General, Press Club of India. Onkareshwar Pandey, Editor in Chief, Indian Observer Post will moderate the media panel.
The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, held on October 13, every year, recognises and commends efforts of both individuals and communities to raise awareness on disaster risk reduction and in turn reduce their vulnerabilities to disasters. First declared in 1989 by the United Nations General Assembly, IDDRR calls for a need to globally promote disaster awareness and risk reduction.
– global bihari bureau
