Mr. Pham Duc Luan, Deputy Director of the VNDMA delivered the opening speech
It has now been 5 years since the Ha Noi Recommendations for Actions on Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction (Ha Noi Recommendations) were presented at the Regional ASEAN-Pacific Conference on Gender and DRR in 2016. Since then, each ASEAN Member State has achieved its own progress by instituting best practice through lessons learned, working towards the overarching goals of implementing policies that empower women and promote gender equality in community-based disaster risk management.
Within the ASEAN region, substantial growth has been made under the Ha Noi Recommendations particularly under the Sendai Framework Priorities 1, Understanding Disaster Risk and 2, Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance. Advances under Priorities 3 and 4, Investing in DRR and Enhancing Preparedness for Building Back Better respectively, have been more limited.
Speaking at the opening of the Forum as the host country, Mr. Pham Duc Luan, Deputy Director of the VNDMA said: “In response to natural disasters, women have good experiences and their own important contributions because women have an important role in the family and community. But so far, disaster prevention and control has often mobilized the participation of men. In addition, gender stereotypes also make women's contributions unrecognized. This makes good experiences and contributions of women not yet recognized and used effectively in disaster prevention in Vietnam, and even in the ASEAN region.”
The ASEAN Forum on Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction, with the primary focus of “5 years after the Ha Noi Recommendations”, co-organized by the ASEAN Secretariat, UN Women and the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority, is a great opportunity for ASEAN policy-makers in DRR and gender issues, as well as development partners, international organizations and think tanks to come together to share experiences and expertise. With specific case studies throughout the region, the Forum aims to review key achievements in the field of women’s empowerment in DRR of each ASEAN Member States, and region at large, to discuss how best to update the Ha Noi Recommendations going forward, to meet the unique requirements of a changing, challenging time.
