Focus on Women and Girls Matters as Disaster Risks Shift

Oct 14, 2021 | Riyanti Djalante and Mohammad Naciri
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At its heart, ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response has a simple but visionary objective to reduce disaster risks and losses in lives.  Its legally binding and comprehensive scope has brought all 10 ASEAN member states to work together. As the region is among the most disaster-prone in the world, such regional cooperation is indispensable for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the ASEAN Vision on Disaster Management 2025, which are fully aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. In this connection, integrating the gender perspective into disaster management policies and practices is fundamental to ASEAN’s strategy for achieving both ASEAN’s vision and its aspiration to demonstrate global leadership. In 2021, the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction focuses on international cooperation to support developing countries in implementing the Sendai Framework. Nowhere is this cooperation more important than for the rights and empowerment of the region’s women and girls. This is not just a goal but also a key part of any effective disaster risk reduction strategy. This principle is central to the mechanisms adopted by ASEAN, with the support of the UN, to put into place the commitments of the Sendai Framework and other development objectives. Southeast Asian countries are no stranger to floods, earthquakes and droughts.