Close Collaboration Needed for Implementation of EW4ALL by 2027 – UNDRR Head

Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Mami Mizutori, has called for close collaboration among disaster-risk-management counterparts, to successfully implement the global Early Warnings for All (EW4ALL) initiative by 2027.

Ms. Mizutori made the call on February 7 during her virtual address at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Conference (Regional Association IV), which is being held from February 6 to 9, in Kingston, Jamaica.

“Of all the risk-reduction and climate-adaptation methods, early warning systems are one of the most cost-effective and proven interventions to save lives and reduce disaster losses,” she said.

“Our own analysis shows that countries that have strengthened their systems have eight times lower disaster mortality than countries that have not. Moreover, an advance warning of at least 24 hours has been shown to reduce economic losses by 30 per cent,” the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, added.

She highlighted that many countries within the region are still in need of more effective, multi-hazard, early warning systems. Additionally, when disaster losses are viewed as a percentage of gross domestic product, “out of the top-10 countries and territories, seven of them are in the Caribbean,” she noted.

To this end, Ms. Mizutori urged regional contribution to close early warning coverage gaps and ensure that all communities are equipped to take early action.

“This is why we must succeed in implementing that Early Warnings for All initiative by the year 2027. To achieve that, we need your support. As a starting point, I ask that you work closely with your disaster-risk-management counterparts to ensure that we have the latest data on the current status of your early warning systems, specifically, by reporting on the indicators of Target G of the Sendai Framework through the online Sendai Framework monitor,” she said.

This would provide the initiative’s leadership Board and international donors with the data needed to prioritise funding and support.

Global Target G of the Sendai Framework is to substantially increase the availability of, and access to multi‑hazard early warning systems and disaster-risk information and assessments to people by 2030.

Both the WMO and the UNDRR have been designated co-leads on the implementation of the EW4ALL initiative, to ensure that every person on the planet is protected by early warning systems by 2027.

On February 7, the Caribbean hosted the first regional launch of the global initiative in Bridgetown, Barbados.