PHL to host back-to-back int’l events on disaster response

Nearly one year after super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) brought widespread devastation, the Philippines will host back-to-back international events focusing on humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the first is the Disaster Response Dialogue (DRD)'s global conference in Manila from October 13 to 14.

It said the DRD's theme is “Improving trust and cooperation for more effective humanitarian responses,” and will be hosted by the Philippine government and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) chaired by Australia.

The DRD, which was initiated in 2011, pools together governments and humanitarian organizations involved in international disaster response to improve trust and mutual cooperation.

It seeks a world where local and international disaster response actors work together to bring timely humanitarian aid to affected populations, while preserving human dignity.

The DFA said the DRD global conference "presents a unique opportunity to gather, for the first time, governments and humanitarian organizations which do not have regular interactions at the international level."

"It is a platform on which a broad range of stakeholders involved in disaster preparedness and response can share lessons and best practices with the view towards producing a set of concrete recommendations for a more inclusive, principled and effective humanitarian action," it said.

Meanwhile, a second international meet – the Nansen Initiative’s fourth Regional Consultation – will be held in Manila from October 15 to 17.

The Consultation is co-organized by the Philippine government, the Nansen Initiative and the Ateneo School of Government, and will have the theme “Human Mobility in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change in Southeast Asia.”

Nansen Initiative, launched in October 2012 by the governments of Switzerland and Norway, is a state-led consultative process seeking to address the needs of people displaced across international borders by natural hazards, including the effects of climate change.

"The overall objectives of the consultation are to  learn more about displacement and human mobility dynamics in the region, identify the region’s specific challenges related to disasters and displacement, and develop concrete, practical, policy and programmatic outcomes to enhance the region’s overall preparedness and response to these challenges," the DFA said.

Both events come nearly a year after Yolanda devastated the Visayas, leaving more than 6,000 dead in its wake. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News