This two-day meeting (18-19 May), dedicated to the mid-term review of progress made in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, was attended by a Moroccan delegation composed of the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Health and Equipment and Water.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is a landmark agreement reached in 2015, aimed at reducing damage, loss and death from natural and man-made hazards by the end of the decade.
In preparation for this high-level meeting, Morocco hosted the 5th Arab Regional Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2021, which was marked by the Rabat Declaration that reaffirmed the need to accelerate the achievement of the goals of the Sendai Framework and related Arab strategies.
Speaking at the general debate of the United Nations meeting on the Sendai Framework, the governor, director of Natural Risk Management at the Ministry of Interior, Abdallah Nassif stressed that Morocco has adopted a national strategy for disaster risk management 2020-2030, with the involvement of all stakeholders at central and local levels, in addition to populations, economic operators and academics.
He further indicated that the speech of HM King Mohammed VI dated March 25, 2004 in the aftermath of the earthquake of Al Hoceima was a turning point that emphasized the need to adopt a forward-looking and integrated approach to natural risk management.
To coordinate the steering of government policy on the management of natural hazards, it has been established the Directorate of Natural Risk Management at the Ministry of the Interior, he said, noting that Morocco is working for the setting up of a ministerial commission dedicated, in particular to strengthen sectoral cooperation and oversee the implementation of the national strategy.
In this regard, he stressed that the Kingdom has taken a series of measures in the implementation of Law 36-15 on water, in order to create an atlas of regions prone to flooding and prevention programs for these phenomena.
In addion, the Kingdom has laid the foundations of institutional governance in disaster management, including through the creation of a Fund to combat the effects of natural disasters and the adoption of a program of integrated risk management of these disasters, he recalled.
He also said that since 2015, some 277 prevention projects have been supported at a total cost of $ 400 million, a third of which has been supported by the said Fund.
Referring to the fight against Covid-19, Nassif noted that Morocco, in accordance with the High Royal Directions, has taken a myriad of measures to contain the pandemic and mitigate its social and economic impact, including the establishment of a scientific advisory committee and a Fund dedicated to the management of the pandemic, in addition to the launch of a free vaccination campaign for all citizens and residents.
