‘Trust, fund and empower local actors’
By the Climate Centre
(Read more about the IFRC’s and National Societies’ advocacy at the GPDRR in this story, posted yesterday: In a climate of shrinking funds and increasing risk, it’s time to shift priorities and get ahead of disasters.)
Noting that less than 10 per cent of finance for climate adaptation reaches the local level, the IFRC yesterday called on the international community to “make locally led action the default”.
“Trust, fund and empower local actors,” the IFRC said in a call to action issued for this week’s Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) in Geneva.
“Resilience starts with the people closest to the risks – support them to drive solutions that last.”
The focus on local leadership was the first of three core areas where the IFRC cited compelling statistics from UN and other sources to reinforce its argument for DRR and climate change adaptation “as essential pillars for a sustainable future”.
It also calls for a shift from reaction to anticipation. Agencies and donors should: “Prioritize funding that prevents and reduces climate and disaster impacts and builds long-term resilience – it is cost effective, saves lives and livelihoods and expands people’s options.”
Only just over 3 per cent of finance for crises was arranged in advance between 2018 and 2022, and as of last year a third of the global population was still not covered by early warning systems.
‘Moral imperative’
Thirdly, the IFRC calls for a renewed emphasis on “the root causes of risk”. For “transformative action,” it adds, “we must address risk drivers and enhance long-term resilience to save and improve lives and livelihoods [and] reduce harmful displacement.”
In 2023 alone, disasters triggered 26.4 million internal displacements – many of them in already fragile or conflict-affected contexts, while 44 per cent of the global population remains poor by a standard of $6.85 a day, with many people living in urban areas “highly exposed to climate and environmental shocks”.
IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain yesterday spoke at the closing session of the first-ever stakeholder forum of the UN-led Early Warnings for All initiative, held as part of the GPDRR event (photo).
He said later on social media: “We have a moral and practical imperative to save lives and save livelihoods … Disastrous hazards don’t discriminate. But their IMPACT on people is discriminatory.
“They hit hardest those already living in the most vulnerable settings. So inclusive #EW4All is vital. What’s traditionally the ‘last mile’ must be considered the ‘first mile’ when it comes to organizing our approach.”
Jagan Chapagain at yesterday’s first-ever stakeholder forum of the EW4All initiative at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva. (Photo: IFRC via social media)