Date: Wednesday 12 October 2011
Event: International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
Theme: Step Up for Disaster Reduction – Making Children and Young People Partners for Disaster Risk Reduction
Venue: Nguyễn Siêu School, Trung Kính Street, Yên Hòa, Cầu Giấy, Hà Nội

 

Mme Ngo Thi Minh, Vice Chairwoman of Education, Youth, Young Children Committee of the National Assembly
Mme Nguyen Thi Ha, Secretary of the Central Youth Union
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dieu, Permanent Member of the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control
Directors and government officials of participating ministries
Representatives from the donor community,
Representatives from the media,
My colleagues from the UN Agencies, Save the Children, Plan International, and other development partners
Dear school teachers and children,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by asking you to picture the life of a child from An Giang who has lost a home, a parent or both due to the recent floods in the Mekong Delta.

The child has lost a normal life.

We are here today right at the time when natural disasters are showing us how small human are in the hands of Mother Nature. A series of disasters have been sweeping through Southeast Asia and Viet Nam – tropical storm Haitang, typhoon Nesat, and storm Nalgae. We the human beings opt for no choice but to be proactive, prepared, collective and resilient.

It is my privilege to be here with you today on behalf of the development partners to open this event celebrating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction October 13 as Viet Nam joins hands with the global community to appeal for collective efforts on disaster management. And the children all around the world, represented by those in the audience today are put at the heart of this year’s Disaster Risk Reduction efforts.

I would like to thank Nguyen Sieu School, the teachers and the students for hosting this event. I would like to congratulate the government, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control, the Ministry of Education and Training and the Youth Union for responding to the global call. I would also like to thank colleagues from international organisations including Plan International and Save the Children and my UN colleagues for making this event happen.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

According to the 2011 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction which was launched in July in Viet Nam by the United Nations and MARD, the estimated economic loss risk associated with floods and tropical cyclones is increasing in all regions of the world.

For Viet Nam, it is encouraging that the Government has acknowledged the disaster risks that the country is facing and taken a number of important actions to address them. Importantly, the Government has focused on community-based disaster risk management with the approval of the Community Awareness Raising and Community-Based Disaster Risk Management Programme in 2009. However, there are a number of challenges the country is confronting and will need to be addressed. This includes increasing economic losses and damage to homes, schools, health facilities and livelihoods.

Over the period 1990 to 2009, an average of 457 people died each year in Viet Nam because of disasters. The estimated annual economic loss is equivalent to 1.3 per cent of its GDP. Climate change and the degradation of the ecosystem have contributed to the increased exposure and vulnerability of people and societies to multiple hazards and consequent disaster risks.

In this context, this year’s International Day features children and young people at the centre by making them partners in our common efforts. The reason for this is simple.

Disasters impact significantly and negatively on child welfare and cause internal displacement. Children are particularly vulnerable, and girls seem to suffer most. The data shows that the gender gap in achieving primary education widens after extensive disaster events, pointing to the need for greater consideration of children's vulnerability and needs.

Today there will be five groups of children discussing five check points of the globally agreed Children’s Charter and Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction which you all have a short version in your hands. Developed recently through consultations with more than 600 children in 21 countries including Viet Nam, the Charter aims at 1) raising awareness of the need for a child-centred approach to Disaster Risk Reduction and 2) stronger commitment from governments, donors and agencies to take appropriate steps to protect children and utilise their energy and knowledge to engage in these common efforts.

Participating children and policy makers,

The Charter’s five check points of priorities feature education, child protection, child participation, and community infrastructure and risk reduction for the most disadvantaged ones.

1) Schools must be safe and education must not be interrupted;

2) Child protection must be a priority before, during and after a disaster;

3) Children have the right to participate and to access the information they need;

4) Community infrastructure must be safe, and relief and reconstruction must help reduce future risk; and

5) Disaster Risk Reduction must reach the most vulnerable people as those are often unnoticed and isolated in such a situation.

Thus, I encourage all of you especially the participating children from Nguyen Sieu and visiting schools and groups of Hmong children coming all the way from Yen Bai and Quang Tri to join the event in the effort to discuss, contribute and dialogue with policy makers on the five check points. This is to ensure that the points will be known, acknowledged and implemented in the next disaster plans.

I highly encourage government leaders to converse with the children and commit in realising the implementation of the Charter. We greatly acknowledge Ministry of Education and Training’s recent efforts in bringing disaster risk reduction and climate change into schools, making children active actors in present and future disaster management.

Let us all make our commitment to ensure that in the very near future, there will be no child and family in An Giang or anywhere across the country unprepared for natural disasters and that children all over the country are part of the preparedness and response plans.

In conclusion, let me stress that the UN in Viet Nam and international organisations such as Plan International, Save the Children and others are committed to continue working with the government, donor community, NGOs and other stakeholders to address disaster risk reduction – thereby ensuring a more secure, stable, sustainable and equitable future for all Vietnamese people.

Thank you for your kind attention. I wish you all a fruitful dialogue!!

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