In line with the efforts of the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Cairo to expand the scope and depth of coverage and information about the UN presence and activities in Egypt and the region, the UNIC Monthly Press Briefing on 13 March featured the Director of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) Regional Office in Cairo. Established last September to better support countries in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) to prepare against disaster, the UN/ISDR regional office brings the number of UN country and regional offices in Egypt to 25.
Opening the event, UNIC Cairo's Director highlighted the importance of UN/ISDR's work in improving national, regional and international preparedness and capacity to respond to disasters.
The UN/ISDR Director talked about the importance of locating an office in the region, saying the region was particularly vulnerable and highly prone to geological hazards, floods, drought, landslides and climate change. He stressed the urgent need to strengthen regional cooperation in disaster risk reduction, saying the agency's goal is to reduce the human, social, economic and environmental losses caused by natural hazards and related technological and environmental disasters. He also spoke of the importance of supporting sound urban planning particularly in populous cities such as Cairo and Istanbul and of supporting the implementation of the "Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015" at national and regional levels. The Hyogo Framework for Action, entitled "Building the Resilience of Communities and Nations to Disasters," was adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe, Japan in early 2005.
A Regional Disaster Reduction Conference is scheduled for Yemen from 19 to 22 May. Egypt's Minister of State for Environment will be among the high-level officials from all countries in the region attending the conference.