This year International Women’s Day, we celebrate the dedication and resilience of women working on the frontlines of humanitarian response. As UNDAC members, Elizabeth Hosking and Natalia de Avila have played essential roles in disaster response, bringing expertise, leadership, and a commitment to supporting affected communities worldwide.
The HNPW provides a unique forum for humanitarian networks and partnerships to meet and address key humanitarian issues. One of the largest humanitarian events of its kind, it gathers participants from the UN, NGOs, Member States, the private sector, the military, academia and beyond to discuss and solve common challenges in humanitarian affairs.
On 17 December 2024, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck 30 km west of Port Vila, Vanuatu, at 12:47 PM local time. Despite the significant damage inflicted on the infrastructure in and around Port Vila, the resilience of the affected communities shone through.
On 22 November, the 30 years of exceptional work by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) networks were celebrated during the UN Foundation’s We the Peoples Award Ceremony.
Mr. Tom Fletcher has started his new role as the new Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
A global UNDAC induction was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 27th October to 8th November 2024 at the Humanitarian Peace Support School (HPSS) in Embakasi, which is a facility with the required amenities desirable for both the plenary/breakout sessions and a SIMEX. The induction course that was funded by the Federal Ministry- Republic of Austria Defence Forces brought together a total of 35 participants (19 females and 17 males) from 32 nationalities across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Americas, and middle East countries.
The UNDAC Refresher Course was successfully held in China from 23-26 September 2024.
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Emergency Response Team (ERT) is provided for within the SADC Disaster Preparedness and Response Strategy and Fund as a regional rapid response team deployable in major sudden and slow on-set disasters.
In the wake of early July 2024, Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados, it was classified as a category 4 hurricane. High winds toppled trees and power lines, tore entire roofs from houses and in some cases, blew buildings completely off their foundations.
We are delighted to share that we have just published Version 2 of the UNDAC Handbook online. This updated version features improved formatting and includes two new subchapters on biohazards (J.10) and hazard impact summaries (K).
We are thrilled to introduce you to the new UNDAC website, your go-to resource hub for all things related to UNDAC and our network around emergency response coordination.
The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) provides a unique forum for humanitarian networks and partnerships to meet and address key humanitarian issues.