ABSTRACT
The MDGs provide an international framework for development work that extends to disaster management. The MDGs are empowered by the Millennium Declaration,1 which calls for the international community to
intensify cooperation to reduce the number and effects of natural and man-made disasters (IV, 23, v)
and to:
… spare no effort to ensure that children and all civilian populations that suffer disproportionately the consequences of natural disasters, genocide, armed conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies are given every assistance and protection so that they can resume normal life as soon as possible. (VI, 26)
During 2001, a road map for the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration2 was released that prioritized the following agenda for risk reduction:
• developing early warning systems, vulnerability mapping, technological transfer and training;
• supporting interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral partnerships, improved scientific research on the causes of natural disasters and better international cooperation to
reduce the impact of climate variables, such as El Niño and La Niña;
• encouraging governments to address the problems created by megacities, the location of settlements in high-risk areas and other human-made determinants of disasters;
• encouraging governments to incorporate disaster risk reduction within national planning processes, including building codes.
