Ambassador Clarems Endara: The more we work on poverty reduction, the better we will be able to deal with disaster risk

With the participation of more than 40 officials, the first day of the Workshop on Disaster Risk Management with a social protection approach, organised by the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), together with the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS), Expertise France and the Social Policy Cabinet of the Dominican Republic, began in Santo Domingo. 

"We at SELA, within our area of action, reinforce the importance of having a disaster risk management with a social protection approach, paying special attention to people," the Permanent Secretary of SELA, Ambassador Clarems Endara, said during the opening of the workshop. He added that "this policy will allow us to have an impact on risk drivers such as poverty and inequality; and the more we work to reduce poverty and inequalities, the better we will be able to face the risks associated with the loss of income, in addition to facilitating access to social services." 

He said he hopes that this workshop will provide the "necessary knowledge to generate public policies, not only to mitigate risks and build resilience, but also to reduce social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities," in order to increase the resilience and general well-being of the population with a focus on social protection in the face of catastrophic events. 

"While natural hazards are unavoidable, their effects can be mitigated through disaster risk management if we have a better understanding of hazards and an adequate approach to the vulnerabilities of the sectors most prone to social risks," the Permanent Secretary stated. 

Omar Bello, from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Verhonica Zamudio, from the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS; and Naxhelli Ruiz Rivera, from the Institute of Geography of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); were the instructors for this first day of the workshop, whose objective was to promote disaster risk management skills and capacities from a social protection approach. 

Disaster Risk Management is one of the issues that SELA focuses on in its Work Programme for 2022-2026, with the objective of establishing regional structures that contribute to the reduction of vulnerabilities, the effective response to emergency situations and the care of the most vulnerable populations to extreme natural phenomena, through social protection systems.