United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) was created in December 1999. The successor to the secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, it was established to ensure the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (General Assembly (GA) resolution 54/219 ).UNISDR is part of the United Nations Secretariat and its functions span the social, economic, environmental as well as humanitarian fields. UNISDR supports the implementation, follow-up and review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (Sendai Framework) adopted by the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan. The Sendai Framework is a 15-year voluntary, non-binding agreement that maps out a broad, people-centred approach to disaster risk reduction, succeeding the 2005-2015 Hyogo Framework for Action.UNISDR’s vision is anchored on the four priorities for action set out in the Sendai Framework: understanding disaster risk, strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk, investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience, and enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.UNISDR is led by a United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG) and has over 100 staff located in its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, 5 regional offices (Africa: Nairobi, the Americas: Panama City, Arab States: Cairo, Asia-Pacific: Bangkok and Europe: Brussels) and other field presences in Addis Ababa, Almaty, Bonn, Incheon, Kobe, New York-UN Headquarters, Rio de Janeiro and Suva.UNISDR coordinates international efforts in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and guide, monitor as well as report regularly on the progress of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, following the Hyogo Framework for Action. It convenes the biennial Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction with leaders and decision makers to advance risk reduction policies and supports the establishment of regional, national and thematic platforms.UNISDR informs and connects people by providing practical services and tools such as the risk reduction website PreventionWeb, terminology, publications on good practices, country profiles and the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction which is an authoritative biennial analysis of global disaster risks and trends.