13th October is the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR). The day is commemorated every year as one way of raising awareness on efforts being made to build resilience of communities and nations to disasters.
This year’s IDDR will be commemorated under the theme “Substantially enhance international cooperation to developing countries through adequate and sustainable support to complement their national actions for implementation of the present framework by 2030.”
In Malawi, the theme has been domesticated to “International Cooperation for Disaster Resilient Malawi,” with a call for increased technical and financial support for climate change adaptation and resilience building programmes, to provide real and lasting protection against the impact of major events such as droughts and floods; among others.
Cognisant of the Covid-19 pandemic, the main event marking the commemoration will be a panel discussion that will be held on 13th October, and aired live on Zodiak TV and MBC Radio 2, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, under the theme ‘International Cooperation for Disaster Resilient Malawi.’ The panel discussion will also be streamed live on the Department of Disaster Management Affairs’ and Zodiak’s Official Facebook Page. There will be also live performances from musicians.
DoDMA is, therefore, calling upon Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Civil Society Organisations, Faith Based Organisations, UN Agencies, Local Authorities, the Donor Community, Private Sector, Academia, Communities, the Media and the general public to commemorate this year’s IDDR by reflecting on how best to amplify international cooperation at all levels for a disaster resilient Malawi.
Disaster risk reduction is everyone’s responsibility!
