Uganda Official Statement
Your Excellencies,
Hon. Ministers
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Uganda, and on my own behalf, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of the Republic of Namibia for hosting this very important conference, and for the warm hospitality accorded to us. I also wish to thank the African Union Commission (AUC) and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), for organizing the high-level meeting.
Ladies and Gentlemen, disasters globally are on the rise, in occurrence, recurrence, magnitude and impact. There is a growing trend particularly for climate related disasters with unrelenting droughts, floods, landslides, conflicts among others in Uganda and the continent that have caused damage, loss and devastation of social and economic gains in our countries.
Distinguished delegates, In Africa, disaster risks are compounded by factors such as climate change, poverty, high population growth, topography, unplanned urbanization that have a negative multiplier effect further worsened by the innate vulnerability of our communities.
Africa is urbanizing! In 2023, Africa's urbanization rate stood at 43% and this is projected to increase, as more people migrate from rural communities to urban areas. In Uganda, urbanization rate is sustained at 4.5% growth per annum. This trend is transformative yet challenging at the same time. Most of the new urban comers tend to settle in informal settlements which puts them at risk of hazards like flash flooding, fires and disease outbreaks. When such hazards become disastrous, they destroy the economic livelihoods of the urban poor hence subjecting them to vicious cycle of poverty with no or little coping capacity and limited resilience abilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, research and data shows that disasters have increased globally over tenfold in the last 60 years, mostly driven by climate change. The climate crisis is intensifying extreme weather events and unfortunately, these are becoming even more frequent and severe. Yet, humanitarian funding is reducing each year as global needs expand. According to the Global Humanitarian Overview, 2023, only 38% of humanitarian required funding was realized in comparison to 50% in 2022.
Distinguished delegates, the above picture therefore defines a critical moment for Africa to rethink her development trajectory by de-risking investments through disaster prevention, risk reduction and intensifying multi-hazard early warning. We must get disaster risk reduction right and do it now, if we must attain resilience for our vulnerable communities and economic developments.
As we gather here for the 9th Africa Regional Platform and 8th Ministerial meeting, we must remember that collectively, we can devise innovative solutions towards a resilient Africa, but implementation must begin at our individual country levels. In Uganda, under the coordination of my ministry, we are making strides towards policy coherence between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation upon recognition of the various similarities in mandates. To walk the resilience journey, as Uganda, we have;
1. Integrated disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change into our National Development framework, and through the programme-based approach, the two sectors fall under the same Programme, which allows them to engage in joint planning.
2. In 2022, following a directive from H.E President Museveni, my Office led and coordinated efforts to develop the National Disaster Risk Management Plan whose vision is "a disaster-resilient Uganda capable to anticipate, prepare for and cope with all disaster risks". The Plan proposes short, medium and long-term actions towards reducing disaster risk, effective disaster response and building resilience of communities at risk of natural and climate disasters.
3. Uganda has a National Risk Atlas, 2019, which was compiled using hazard, risk and vulnerability data from all districts of Uganda, and it details the seven priority hazards for Uganda namely, floods, drought, landslides, wind and hailstorms, lightning and earthquake. The Atlas has enabled us to know and understand our risks, providing a platform for risk informed development.
4. Additionally, under my leadership, Uganda is in advanced stages of formulating a law that will regulate on Disaster Risk Management for enhanced disaster and climate resilience of our people.
5. Uganda has National Climate Change Policy and Act, which provide detailed mechanisms for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Uganda.
6. In 2014, my office started the development and production of a multi-sectoral Uganda National Integrated Early Warning System (UNIEWS) bulletin, which is published monthly to alert citizens on any impeding situation. In as much as disasters have increased in Uganda, disaster deaths have fallen significantly due to improved early warning.
7. Uganda has also embraced the UN Secretary General's initiative of Early Warning for All and is privileged to be one of the countries to implement Water at the Heart of Climate Action project. With this project support, we will further enhance community resilience through interventions that provide impact based early warning.
8. We have institutionalized DRR and continue to make policy proposals to expand the mandate and coverage of our scope, to effectively coordinate DRR and resilience building interventions at all levels. DRR is coordinated at a high level under the Office of the Prime Minister, and the function is supervised by 02 cabinet Ministers.
9. My country is also proud to host one of the oldest National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa, which has been functional since 2009. The multi-sectoral platform brings together government, United Nations Agencies, and other non-government actors, including the academia, civil society, union of People with Disabilities and the private sector, to collectively discuss DRR interventions, challenges and opportunities.
Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, the above are a few examples of what Uganda is doing to implement the Sendai Framework for DRR and the African Union Programme of Action. Our detailed progress is reported in the Sendai Monitor and through the African Union's bi-annual reports for DRR. Amidst these strides, enormous challenges pertain, especially around limited resources, negative risk perception among the public, inadequate awareness, sensitization on disaster and climate risks, slow progress in mainstreaming of DRR across sectors, to mention a few. This said, our government's resolve towards Disaster Risk Reduction and resilience is defined as seen in our policy improvements.
I wish to emphasize that as Ministers in this room, we represent the policy and decision-making organs in our countries, and hence we ought to be the ambassadors for better disaster risk governance. I challenge all of us therefore, to ensure the recommendations highlighted in the Windhoek declaration we are adopting today, do not only serve to feed Africa's voice to the Global Platform, but ensure we domesticate them in our respective national processes.
On behalf of the Government of Uganda, I wish to re-emphasize the commitment towards supporting the recommendations of the 9th session of the Africa Regional Platform and the outcomes of the 8th Ministerial meeting as we strive towards the resilient Africa we need, without leaving anyone behind.
Conclusively, I take this opportunity to invite you to Uganda, to share experiences on our journey towards disaster and climate resilience, and importantly invite you to explore and enjoy the natural beauty of the Pearl of Africa - Gifted by Nature!
I thank you.
FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY.
Lillian Aber (PhD)
MINISTER OF STATE FOR RELIEF, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND REFUGEES.