Africa-Press – Angola. The African Union (AU) Commissioner, Josefa Sacko, considered, Wednesday (9), in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, that it is imperative for international cooperation to be strengthened in the actions of the disaster risk reduction program (AMHEWAS) , in order to protect development and safeguard the realization of Agenda 2063: “The Africa we want”.
The diplomat, who made these remarks during a high-level side event, which took place at the Africa pavilion, said that the implementation of the aforementioned program is essential to significantly reduce losses resulting from climate-related hazards, forced migration and humanitarian assistance.
Josefa Sacko revealed that the number of people dying from disasters caused by natural hazards increased to 36 million from 2017 to 2018, and economic losses also reached 8 billion dollars in the same period.
He added that the losses caused by climatic catastrophes are mainly due to inadequate investment in multi-hazardous early warning systems, this effective early warning mechanism that could prevent, reduce the risk of occurrence or minimize the impact of hazards.
“Risk communication in a continent where digital divides are wide, there are inadequate incapacities to detect, analyse, monitor and predict multiple hazards in many African countries, which is creating an information gap and uncertainty for decision makers”, he said.
Challenges in Africa
In order to respond to the challenges that undermine early warning systems in Africa, the African Union has developed the African Early Warning and Early Action System (AMHEWAS) Program, which is being implemented through the support of the Government of Italy and the UNDRR , with the first phase having consumed more than 5 billion dollars. For the next phase, approximately USD 75 million needs to be mobilized. This resource is urgent as disasters continue to occur across the continent.
The first phase of the program started in 2019, resulting in the creation of the AMHEWAS Continental Situation Room at African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa for Disaster Operations (IGAD) in Nairobi and climate advice (ACMAD), in Niamey, Niger.
This collaborative and networked approach system will ensure that actionable information on disaster risks is available and accessible to different users, in which clear feedback loops will be established to ensure that relevant information reaches the people who need it.
AMHEWAS will provide guidance on a coordination support platform to strengthen technical, logistical and financial capacities, as well as other important actions that need to be put in place for effective disaster response preparedness and recovery.
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