UNDRR Activities in South America in 2019

In 2019, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) cooperated with several regional organizations in South America to support the development and implementation of regional disaster risk reduction strategies and plans. Such organizations include the Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Assistance of the Andean Community of Nations, and the Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities on Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management of the Southern Common Market.

UNDRR also worked with the UN Sustainable Development Group for Latin America and the Caribbean through issue-based coalitions (IBCs), which act as regional task forces to facilitate cooperation and response to cross-cutting challenges in the region. As a result, UNDRR co-chairs two IBCs in the region: The Regional Inter-Agency Resilience Group, aimed at enhancing coordination of disaster risk reduction efforts among UN agencies in the region, and the Climate Change and Resilience IBC.

By the end of 2019, 8 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean Region had finalized and made publicly available a national disaster risk reduction strategy, and 17 others were in the process of formal approval. The status of national disaster risk reduction strategies in these countries was then assessed to inform the nature of technical assistance that should be provided by UNDRR in 2020. In 2019, the Brazilian municipalities of São José do Rio Preto, and Vinhedo implemented, after validation, their local disaster risk reduction action plans. UNDRR also worked with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the city of Cusco (Peru) to develop a local disaster risk reduction strategy, with a focus on protection of cultural heritage.