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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042429/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This document outlines USAID/OFDA’s activities in Asia, placing particular emphasis on its work to improve regional cooperation, awareness, and capabilities for effective disaster assistance and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The document begins with an outline of OFDA’s central mission to lead U.S. Government responses to disasters around the world and to assist vulnerable populations in preparing for, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from extreme events (p.1); a mission which OFDA has more than fifteen years of carrying out in the Asia region. The importance of OFDA’s work is particularly critical considering increases in conflict, displacement, water scarcity, rapid population growth, and unplanned urbanization throughout the region, and the impact of these trends on the vulnerability of its populations to traditional hazards such as typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and drought. The document briefly discusses basic constraints to DRR pertinent to the Asia region, including how variations in government capacity to carry out effective disaster response and DRR will limit OFDA’s activities in the region; the impact that climate change will continue to have in increasing vulnerability; the role that USG policy will play in restricting OFDA’s work in conflict-prone areas; and how a lack of long-term commitments from donor organizations limits the sustainability of OFDA’s initiatives. The document goes on to highlight the two central goals of OFDA’s activities in the region: (i) to improve national and regional capacities for DRR, and (ii) to increase and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable populations to prepare for and recover from disasters (p.4). To meet the first goal, OFDA has supported trans-boundary hydrometeorological initiatives, regional institution capacity building, development of public/private partnerships, national and regional seismic risk reduction programs, awareness-raising, and psychosocial training and research. For the second goal, OFDA’s has engaged in community-based capacity building, community-based seismic risk reduction programs, information dissemination and local warning systems, relief commodity pre-positioning, water management, and efforts to increase community resiliency. While the effectiveness of OFDA’s approach to DRR in the Asia region has been verified, a number of challenges, capacity needs, and gaps continue to exist throughout the region. These include mainstreaming an understanding of DRR principles into national behavior, and designing cohesive DRR programs. ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Reduction ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- (2009). Asia DRR strategy: for the period of 2009-2011. United States Agency for International Development/Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID / OFDA).
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13042429
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