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| Kenyan MP appointed African champion for disaster risk reduction
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Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) -
Rachel Shebesh, member of parliament in Kenya and chair
of the African Parliamentarian Initiative for
Climate Risk Reduction, was Tuesday appointed as the UN International Strategy f
or Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) champion for disaster risk reduction in Africa, t
h
e Pan African Parliament (PAP) announced in a statement.
The champion for disaster risk reduction is an honorary title bestowed by UNISDR
on a person of integrity, who embodies the
organisation's mission and ideals in advocating for disaster risk reduction.
As the regional African champion, Shebesh will promote the synergy between disas
ter risk reduction and climate change adaptation throughout
Africa and work closely with all African parliamentarians in order to obtain mor
e political commitment to disaster risk reduction policies that will
help to protect more communities against climate-related disasters.
Shebesh also leads the Black & Green, Ready to Lead campaign, which was launched
Tuesday at the PAP buildings in Johannesburg, South Africa
to sensitise the region to the importance of using prevention measures to reduce
the impacts of climatic disasters.
The campaign aims to promote the synergy between disaster risk reduction and cl
imate change adaptation among parliamentarians, high-level government
officials and the public at large.
''Rachel Shebesh is already very active in driving the disaster risk reduction a
genda forward. Legislators play an important role in bridging the existing
gap between national policy and local implementation in disaster risk reduction.
''She will continue to work closely with all our African partners and bring the
African voice to the upcoming climate change negotiations in Copenhagen
(Denmark),'' said Margareta Wahlstram, special representative of the UN Secretar
y-General for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Africa is highly vulnerable to disasters, with millions of people affected every
year by prolonged droughts, water stress and severe floods.
''We parliamentarians need to do more to integrate disaster risk reduction and c
limate change adaptation in our development policies,'' Shebesh said. ''
Clearly, disasters have long term impacts on people and their livelihoods and we
need to do better to protect our people from the growing impact of
climate-related disasters.
''I will continue to speak with African leaders about the need for increased com
mitment and investment in disaster risk reduction,'' she said.
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| Lusaka - 27/10/2009 |
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