At this week’s UN World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Mercy Malaysia hosted and led the global dialogue on ‘Implementing the Sendai Framework to Reduce the Humanitarian Burden: AseanN Resilience in Practice’.
Mercy Malaysia president and chairperson of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies Dr Faizal Perdaus shared, “Disaster risk reduction became a model of operations after the Indian Ocean tsunami with the adoption of the Hyogo Framework for Action. Asean is the first in the world to adopt a legally binding framework on disaster risk management since 2009.”
He added, “There was a challenge in getting communities to understand disaster risk reduction was something which they could benefit from. We fully embraced the Sendai Framework when we saw the word ‘Resilience’ coming and the word ‘Sustainable’ coming to the fore.”
Adelina Kamal, director, Asean Secretariat, said as a result of experiences in responding to disasters such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Cyclone Nargis and Typhoon Haiyan which together claimed over 370,000 lives, Asean was now a world leader in disaster risk management.
Robert Glasser, special representative of the secretary-general of UNISDR, praised the Asean agreement as remarkable and in line with the focus in the Sendai Framework on disaster risk management as opposed to disaster management.
The panel also included Monique Pariat, director-general, European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department; Mohd Izani Ghani, CFO of Khazanah Nasional Berhad; Farah Kabir, board chair of Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction; Said Faisal, executive director of the Asean Coordination Centre for Disaster Response and Nikki Antonette De Vera, programme head of the Centre for Disaster Preparedness Philippines.
Ahmad Faizal, who also spoke at a separate High-Level Roundtable session alongside heads of government on ‘Humanitarian Financing - Investing in Humanity’, articulated, “There needs to be a new way of doing things: local and national governments must engage even before disaster strikes or conflicts erupt. I understand this may not be possible all the time but the lessons learnt from Ebola and SARS have shown us more must be done in preparedness.”
In opening the summit UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared, “In recent weeks, hundreds of people were killed in the Ecuador earthquake; thousands of civilians forced to flee bombs and rockets in Syria, and millions facing hunger in southern Africa. More people have been forced from their homes than at any time since the end of the Second World War.”
The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit saw more than 65 heads of state and government in two days of high-level discussions to advance global efforts to address the record numbers of people suffering from conflict, climate disasters and hunger.
Mercy Malaysia’s booth at the summit showcased their global medical relief efforts, and focussed on Building Resilient Communities.
Video links
Mercy Malaysia president Dr Faizal Perdaus at the High-Level Leader's RoundTable at the World Humanitarian Summit here and here.
Norazam Samah, director of Program Development and Operations Department for Mercy Malaysia gives us the inside track on Mercy’s latest work at the World Humanitarian Summit here and here.
Mercy Malaysia's team at World Humanitarian Summit here and here.
