Who We Are

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Regional Office – The Americas and the Caribbean

Created in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, UNDRR, is the designated focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations and regional organizations and activities in socio economic and humanitarian fields.

Led by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDRR has around 100 staff located in its HQ in Geneva, Switzerland, and 5 regional offices and other field presences.

Specifically, UNDRR coordinates international efforts in disaster risk reduction, and guides, monitors and reports on the progress of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030; campaigns to create global awareness of disaster risk reduction benefits and empower people to reduce their vulnerability to hazards; advocates for greater investments in disaster risk reduction to protect people's lives and assets, and for increased and informed participation of men and women in reducing disaster risk; and informs and connects people by providing practical services and tools such as Prevention Web, publications on good practices, and by leading the preparation of the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction and the organization of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

 

Regional Office – The Americas and the Caribbean

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What we do

We promote the implementation of the Sendai Framework - With its seven targets and four priorities for action was adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on March 18, 2015. It was endorsed by the UN General Assembly on May 15, 2015.
The Sendai Framework is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders. It aims for the following outcome:
The substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries.

We build and support partnerships and networks with development and humanitarian groups worldwide, to build disaster resilience and promote DRR. Partners include UN agencies, governments, international organizations, regional actors, NGOs, civil society and the private sector.

We advocate for increased government action on DRR. We promote the integration of disaster reduction policies and legislation into sustainable development planning, for example by supporting multi-stakeholder national, regional and thematic platforms on DRR.

We inform people by producing information and education materials, and promoting scientific and technical research, including guidance on DRR strategies, protection and preparedness measures. We develop tools to make information available to a wide public, such as the journal ISDR Informs and the online resource HFA-Pedia.
We communicate with all stakeholders in society who are concerned with disaster prevention. We work with journalists to raise awareness of the importance of disaster prevention – often neglected by the media in the aftermath of disasters. We reach out to communities that are potentially at risk from the impact of natural hazards, by communicating about disaster prevention at a local level.

We campaign, together with partners, to build awareness of DRR, and reduce communities’ vulnerability to the impact of hazards. Our campaigns aim to strengthen DRR policies and to influence the attitudes of decision-makers and society at large, towards dealing with disaster risk.