Brussels 15 November 2018/ACP/: The African, Caribbean Pacific Secretariat, in collaboration with the European Commission, hosted the Fall Meeting of the Consultative Group (CG) of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), in Brussels during the 7th-9th November, 2018.

The meetings, co-chaired by the ACP Secretariat, the European Commission and the World Bank, celebrated the ACP Group initiative in 2005, to create ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Management Programs under the intra-ACP framework.The ACP-EU NDRR Program supports Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation activities in ACP countries through technical assistance, capacity building and advisory/analytical work.

The Consultative Group discussions at the ACP Secretariat showcased the current success stories of GFDRR program (launched in 2011), and highlighted newly emerging priorities of mutual interest, including inclusive community resilience, gender mainstreaming, and local adaptation.

Ambassador Ognimba, the Assistant Secretary General of the Political Affairs and Human Development Department, in his opening remarks at the Consultative Group meeting, stated ‘The top priorities for the group remains a pro-active approach to the management of natural disasters and the associated risks, the promotion of programs leading to Resilient Recovery, and a bottoms-up approach which will give a voice to the voiceless and empower the most vulnerable members of our societies’.

The Consultative Group Meeting was followed by the information sharing seminars of The Knowledge Partnership Day and the ACP Focus Day (8th and 9th November 2018 respectively), and provided the platform for participants to share their perspectives on efforts to enhance resilience at the local levels. The Knowledge Partnership Day connected key partners and stakeholders such as ACP government officials, EU and international donors, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The discussions highlighted challenges and proposed solutions on inclusive risk governance. Innovative projects and approaches throughout the ACP Group were showcased, and lessons learned were shared as part of the strategy to increase the efficiency of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation projects in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific regions.

The ACP Focus Day’s theme, “Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation in ACP Countries”, highlighted the progress of the Africa Caribbean Pacific – European Union Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program. The Focus Day also provided an opportunity to take stock of over a hundred ACP-EU NDRR Program projects in its portfolio, to identify challenges and opportunities, facilitated an exchange on experiences between country-level projects and regional projects, and provided implementing partners, such as NGOs and African Regional Economic Communities, the opportunity to share their experiences on the ACP-EU NDRR Program.

Photo: (Dr. Natallie Corrie-Kordas ,Expert Humanitarian Matters and Civil Society at African,Caribbean and Pacific Secretariat)

ACP Press